The Neko and The Pharaoh
by Ice Age Dragon
Summary: The Neko village was one of the proud villages in all of Japan and is protected by the emperor of Japan. But when the village is attacked by people who were searching for a gift for the Pharaoh they took something that meant the world to one certain Neko and he is willing to go to Egypt and take back what was taken from him or will he find something more in store for him.
1. Japan's Neko Village

The Neko village of japan was beautiful to only a select few who get to see the village. The Neko's made this rule because they know many who wish to take their own kind into slavery or feared the worst of a greedy human if they took hold of a Neko. The village was peaceful and many Neko children enjoyed playing with each other or enjoyed relaxing in the sun. Others were more committed to work alongside their parents. The Emperor of Japan loved to care for the neko's and his kingdom as if they were all children that needed a mother or father. At times a male Neko could have children if they found their rightful mate. Many Neko's known that finding true love was impossible and one particular Neko didn't have time to believe in fairy tales and he thought of his son as a blessing from his late lover and now he has to face one particular problem which starts off every morning with a child crying out for his mother.

"Its alright little one, I'm here" Yami cooed at his seven-month-year-old son

Yami had tri-colored hair that had amethyst tips and black hair for the base along with blonde bangs. He had black and crimson tip ears, his tail was black with a bit of a crimson shine to it when it sways in the sunlight.

"I bet you're hungry or want attention," Yami said as he giggled when his son smiled and waved his hands at Yami "I'm betting it's both," Yami said as he grabbed a warm bottle of milk and fed his son Yugi who immediately grabbed the bottle with his hands as Yami held it for him

Yugi had the same black tail and ears except for the tips of his ears were amethyst while his tail also had an amethyst shine to it. Yami had a difficult time raising yugi for the first two months of his birth since his past lover died of an incurable sickness and many lives were lost since neko's were the only ones affected except for those who were immune to it.

"Slow down Yugi, you'll get hiccups and then you'll get fussy from hiccuping so much," Yami said as he tried to get yugi to slow down in drinking his bottle

Yugi finished drinking his morning bottle and smiled at his mother before he hiccuped and gave a confused look and hiccuped again then he soon started to get fussy.

"I told you," Yami said with a chuckle as he burped Yugi

Yami smiled and got ready for the day and dressed Yugi. Yami wore a cream-colored shirt with strings tied across his chest along with dark brown pants and brown shoes. Yugi was dressed in a white shirt with grey-white pants and wore no shoes. The two went out to enjoy the spring day along with a small picnic when it is time for lunch. The two enjoyed watching the flowers and feel the wind in their hair, well Yami did, Yugi was busy trying to catch the wind.

"Hey Yami" Rebecca greeted as the ten-year-old noticed Yugi "hello yugi...still adorable as ever" Rebecca cooed at the baby Neko

"Hello Rebecca, how is your grandfather," Yami asked as he grabbed Yugi from crawling away

"He's fine but he's going on another adventure soon and I'm going with him," Rebecca said in excitement

"Do humans always go on adventures?" Yami asked as leaned against the tree

"Not always but it's really fascinating to meet new people and cultures," Rebecca said as she played with Yugi and laughed when he got confused on what she was doing

"I don't think he knows what you're doing with your hands," Yami said as he laughed at the silly face Rebecca made when she removed her hands

"Well my grandpa used to play this game with me when I was a toddler and you just place your hands over your face and say surprise or make a silly face," Rebecca said as she pouted once Yugi was no longer playing with her but staring at a butterfly

Yami chuckled and shared his lunch with Rebecca as he fed Yugi his midday bottle. They stayed there for a few more minutes until Rebecca had to go and pack her things for the journey ahead of her. Yami bid her well and cradled a sleeping yugi against his chest. It was already evening when Yami arrived home.

'Home sweet home' Yami thought with a sad smile as he remembered the days where he and his lover would curl up against each other near the fireplace

Yami went to the nursery and placed Yugi in his crib and went to his own room and stared at a picture of him and his lover when he was three months pregnant with Yugi. He closed his eyes for some sleep before yugi wakes him up for attention.

* * *

 **~Early Morning of Japan~**

* * *

The sun was not out yet but unknown to the Neko village a Lord of Egypt was looking for a gift for the Pharaoh, he was cruel and wanted to gain more power by offering the Pharaoh an extraordinary gift. He and a group of associates who work in the black market circled the village and on his order they attacked. No one knew what was going on but the moment a house caught on fire screams were heard around the village and many went out their homes to see the situation only to be met with humans with strange clothing. Many escaped to a neighboring Neko village using a secret tunnel that's hidden in a tree while others protected the ones escaping.

"Capture one of them!" The Egyptian Lord commanded as he watched the entire ordeal on his horse

Yami awoke to screams and heard the door to his house being barged into, he quickly ran to the nursery only to be met with a man with yugi in his arms. Yugi cried in fear and wanted comfort from his mother, the man smirked at Yami and jumped out the window with yugi in his arms but dropped a pendant unknown to him and Yami.

"NO!" Yami yelled as he ran towards the window

He heard men come into his home and he jumped out his window and landed gracefully on the ground and went to search for the man who had his son. He saw many Neko's ran towards the secret tunnel, he saw fires being lit up and other Neko's protecting their loved ones from harm. He saw the man that had his son but was grabbed by another Neko.

"Yami we have to go!" Jonouchi yelled but Yami refused to listen and struggled against him

"No!...they have my son!" Yami cried as he was dragged away from the commotion

Yami freed himself from Jono's grip and ran toward the direction the man went until a wooden beam broke and was going to fall on Yami if it wasn't for Jonouchi pushing him out of the way. The last thing Yami saw was the fire and his son being taken away and his cries were the only thing he heard until everything went black.

* * *

 **~With the Egyptian Lord~**

* * *

The lord was disappointed when his conquest was for nothing but that went away when he saw one of his men carrying a crying child in his arms.

"Perfect now lets return to Egypt and bring our gift to the Pharaoh," the Lord said as he left the village

Unknown to all the lord and his comrades, Rebecca heard the commotion and saw the lord and she growled to herself and left to find the other Neko's and wished they were all okay. What she saw sickened her there were many dead bodies laying on the ground and there was blood everywhere she stepped. Sunlight started to appear over the village and Rebecca couldn't find anyone.

"Hello!...Anyone!...Hello!...it's me, Rebecca!" She yelled as she had tears fall down her face

Some Neko's who hid in the forest came out of hiding while the others stayed in their neighbor's village for the meantime. She was relieved to see many of them alive but seeing everyone tired and hurt made her sob. Jonouchi placed a hand on her shoulder and she hugged him tightly.

"What happened?" Rebecca sobbed as she looked around her

"These strange men came and attacked the village and they destroyed everything, killed families and friends," Jonouchi said as tears weld up in his eyes as he looked at the lifeless bodies of his divorced parents

"Is Yami okay?" Rebecca asked in fear of the answer

"No, he didn't take things to well and you can find him at his house...don't worry he's still alive but he's emotionally wounded" Jonouchi explained as he rounded up all the survivors to pack up their things to move and rebuild a new village

Rebecca ran towards Yami's house and up the stairs, she looked into his room and found it odd that she didn't hear yugi crying. She checked the nursery and saw Yami clutching a crimson blanket with Yugi's name sewed on the corner. Yami had tears in his eyes and didn't hear Rebecca come in until she touched his shoulder and quickly turned around to face the intruder just to see her.

"Yami I'm so sorry," Rebecca said as she hugged the Neko

"It wasn't your fault, they did this not you," Yami said as Rebecca stared at him in sympathy

Yami was going to leave the room when he stepped on something that wasn't supposed to be in the room. He picked up the bronze pendant and examined the symbol in curiosity.

"Do you know what this means?" Yami asked as he showed Rebecca the pendant

"I think I do but I can't read hieroglyphics that well" Rebecca admitted as she took the pendant from Yami

"Hieroglyphics?" Yami questioned in confusion of the unknown term

"It's Egyptian and it comes from Egypt before you ask" Rebecca informed

Yami took in all the information and ran to his room and grabbed a bag and started to pack important things for his journey.

"Yami if you're doing something dangerous than I'm coming to," Rebecca said sternly

"No...you have to go on that adventure you talked about so much," Yami said as he packed fresh clothes

"Well you need an escort and me and my grandfather just so happen to go to Egypt for one of his trades," Rebecca said as she examined her nails

Yami stopped packing his things and knew he needed Rebecca to find yugi in Egypt and to get to Egypt he needed a ship.

"Alright, but you don't tell your grandfather or anyone else and I'll get Jonouchi to come...he can teach me how to fight if necessary" Yami said as he finished packing his things

Rebecca nodded and left the village while Yami managed to get Jonouchi alone and convince him to come on his journey and teach him how to fight. Jonouchi had golden cat ears and tail, others admired Jonouchi for his free spirit but at times it got him into trouble. Jonouchi left to pack his things and convince his sister to leave with the other Neko's. Yami knew it would be hours before he could leave so he dedicated that time to bury the dead and give them a proper funeral before nightfall.


	2. Pharaoh Atem

It's wasn't long until the Lord and his crew left Japan to sail back to Egypt in time for the pharaoh's celebration party for the gods. The crew handled everything, the cleaning, fixing, steering the ship, and checking the sails for any tear of some kind but the one thing they couldn't handle was a baby especially a baby Neko.

"Argh!... I can't stand it anymore!...can someone shut him up already!" The Lord yelled to his crew

"No one knows how to take care of a child my Lord" a crew member said nervously

Yugi kept crying and almost the entire ship had something to cover their ears with until the captain had enough of Yugi's crying. He went to the ship's kitchen and grabbed a celery stick and just stuffed it in the baby's mouth. Yugi did stop crying for a few sweet seconds but he spits out the vegetable and began to cry again. And in frustration, the captain pulled his beard and went above deck.

"We need a woman to handle that creature!" The captain yelled angrily

"Agreed" the entire crew yelled out as they covered their ears again as Yugi kept crying

"We stop at next port!" The captain ordered as he went to talk with the important guest on his ship

The crew members on the ship didn't know the lord's name and didn't bother to ask him about it. The captain stormed towards the Egyptian Lord's room and informed him of the sudden port in a day or so.

"Fine!, but do not disturb me!" The Lord angrily said as he went back to practicing on what he should say to the pharaoh

Meanwhile, in Japan, Jonouchi was teaching Yami how to fight and defend himself but Yami was on his back for the twentieth time in a row. Jonouchi was drinking some water and Yami was catching his breath as he still lay on the ground.

"Yami how are we going to get on the floating thing if the emperor doesn't allow neko's to leave the safety of Japan," Jono asked as Yami stayed quiet

"Well..." Yami started nervously as he stood up and faced Jono with a smile

"Hey I know that look please tell me we are not doing what I think we're doing," Jono asked as Yami smiled mischievously at him

* * *

 **~On the Hawkins ship~**

* * *

"I can't believe we snuck out of japan!" Jonouchi whispered harshly at Yami

"It was the only way to get to Egypt" Yami whispered back

Jono glared at him but one single sound caught their attention and they stayed quiet until the unknown threat left from their hiding spot. Soon they saw a familiar face as Rebecca opened the crate they were in.

"I thought you guys might be hungry," Rebecca said with a smile

"Rebecca a little warning next time," Jonouchi said with a playful glare

"Well I can't come down here as often or else the crew would get suspicious," Rebecca said as she handed them a satchel made of cloth filled with fruit and a bit of meat

"Thank you, Rebecca," Yami said as he ate a peach

"Okay I'll go now but that satchel should last you guys two days if you ration it" Rebecca informed as she closed the crate and went above deck

Jonouchi and Yami got themselves comfortable and slept as did everyone else on the ship. Yami was still awake and thought about the safety of his son and wondered if he was still alive but he shook the thoughts of doubt from his mind and went to sleep.

* * *

 **~Meanwhile in Egypt~**

* * *

Pharaoh Atem was in a meeting and everything was going smoothly until there was a slight disagreement and he was now rubbing his head to lessen the pain.

"We can't postpone the celebration for one setback!" Seth (wielder of the millennium rod) said angrily

"Something bad will happen I saw it!" Isis (millennium necklace) yelled to Seth

"Most of it! And what does this supposed threat cause to the festival?!" Aknadin (wielder of the millennium eye) sternly questioned as he crossed his arms

"The destruction of the festivities because of one person" Isis plainly stated as she stared at aknadin with narrowed eyes

"I agree with Isis not because she is my wife but because I care for the safety of others" Mahad (Millennium ring) stated as another argument broke out between the priest

Atem was dealing with a headache and soon enough he snapped then he glared at the priests.

"ENOUGH!" Atem yelled angrily making the room quiet

"Forgive us Pharaoh," Shada (millennium key) said as he bowed

"The festivities shall go on but I shall put more guards on the watch if anything goes wrong" Atem assured to everyone concerned about the hidden threat

Atem adjourned the meeting and left to his chambers to relax for the day. He took off his golden armbands and earrings except for his crown. He walked towards his balcony and stared at the city not far from his palace for a while until he heard a knock on his door.

"Come in," Atem said as he glanced at the approaching form of his cousin

"I could've been one of those Harem girls...you should be more careful cousin" Seth snickered as he stood beside him

"Just because they are from a harem doesn't mean I would actually sleep with one and I shall not start today or any day" Atem answered with a glare

"Relax cousin, I only find it funny that they come into your room when your not aware," Seth said with a smirk planting on his face

"Very funny...but what brings you here," Atem asked as he stared at the city

"Some of the guests that are coming for the festival are arriving in a week" Seth informed as stared at the city

"Don't tell me...Lord Mazaki is coming along with his niece Lady Téa Gardner" Atem said

"Well I don't mind his niece but her uncle is a whole different story," Seth said as he glared at nothing in particular

"The man can be selfish but if we offend him then he will go tell his brother then we'll have to deal with the situation" Atem informed as he went back inside his room

"Well I wouldn't do it but who would be stupid enough to offend a Lord especially Lord Mazaki," Seth said as he left the room

Atem sighed and saw that Ra had already begun his journey to the underworld. He changed into his nightclothes and took off his crown and went to sleep until he attends his royal duties the next morning.


	3. Egypt

Days have passed and Yugi's crying hadn't ceased and neither has Yami's worry. The captain docked on Egypt's border to refill on supplies and find someone to handle the Neko they had on board. The Egyptian Lord stayed in his cabin for the trip and began planning his next plan to get more power than the Pharaoh himself.

"Alright men...search for two nannies to take care of the little nipper before we leave port," the Captain said as he handled something with the port manager

The crew set out to get supplies and found two suitable nannies to take care of yugi while they work the ship. The girls were lightly tan and greedy and only wanted the money they were promised if they helped. They all left back towards the ships and yugi saw the nannies and had a mischievous smile on his face and began to make things difficult for them. The girls got angry at him but knew punishment was far worse if they hurt yugi.

"Why did we agree to this," the brown-haired nanny said to the other

"The large amount of money they promised us," the red-haired nanny said as she fussed with Yugi

Yugi liked messing with them but knew when to stop when he felt threatened or was scared by them. Meanwhile, Yami and Jonouchi stayed in the crate and talked about strategies to get yugi back when they heard voices in the crate next to them.

"Who could that be?" Yami whispered to Jonouchi

"I dun know, but I don' like it," Jonouchi said as he carefully got out the crate followed by Yami

Jono carefully opened the lid and almost dropped it in surprise and the guilty ones smiled sheepishly at the two Neko's.

"Ryou?!, Malik?!" Jono said in a surprised whisper

"What are you doing here?" Yami whispered to them

"Well we heard about what happened and about your plan and decided to help," Malik said bluntly

"No, you followed them even though I told you not to," Ryou said as he glared at Malik

"Details, details...but I do know how to get in and out of the ship along with Ryou's expertise in blending in and out," Malik said with a smile

Yami sighed but smiled knowing his two friends would help him get yugi back. Jono wondered how his sister was doing since she and he no longer had parents, he dismissed the thought and began to tell his plan to get yugi back from his kidnappers. Rebecca came down and saw the other two stowaways and smiled.

"It's good to see you guys and here's a map of Egypt when we go near the Egyptian border because once we go to Alexandria we have to go our separate ways" Rebecca explained as she gave them the map

Yami nodded at Rebecca and soon she left them alone to hide for the remainder of the trip. The two ships were close but far, The Lord got to Alexandria first and had the nannies paid to not say a word about the baby Neko. The captain was paid as well and kept the secret along with his crew. The lord set off on horseback to his estate along with a few guards to protect him from thieves.

"Now once we get back to the estate keep that creature under lock and key," The Lord said to his troop

"Yes Lord Mazaki," one of the guards said as they rode towards the estate

Yugi didn't like the men he was with and began to cry again and many groaned for knowing they couldn't make the child fall asleep. Days afterward Yami and his friends said goodbye to Rebecca, they wore cloaks to hide their ears and wrapped their tails around their waist to make it look like belts. Rebecca also gave them money to rent horses for their journey ahead of them.

"Yami how are we ever going to find yugi in this place," Ryou said as he nervously looked around them

"This pendant can help us find him, whoever can read this" Yami gestured toward the hieroglyphs "then we find my son," Yami said sternly as he clicked his heels on the horse's sides to begin running

His friends followed suit and once Night fell they stopped and made camp in an oasis they found, they fed their horses and tied them up near the oasis to drink water. Malik had sandy blonde ears and tail with tan skin while Ryou had white and pale skin like Jonouchi and Yami. They both prepared the sleeping mats while Yami and Jono started the fire. And they talked and laughed and soon enough fell asleep.

* * *

 **~At the Palace~**

* * *

Atem prepared for the festival in three days and the events that happen in Isis's visions made him take precautions for his people. His guest chatted happily and a few women decided to enter his chambers, naked, of course, he handled the situation and the lady's parents weren't proud of their actions.

'For once in my life, I would like to have someone not to be interested in me' Atem thought with a groan escaping his mouth

He was still looking over papers and treaties when a knock on his office door disrupted him for a short moment.

"Come in," Atem said as he wrote down a few more things on a papyrus scroll

"My Pharaoh. Lady Téa has arrived but her uncle is not present" A guard reported

"Strange how he is not with her...I'll greet her in a moment, you may go," Atem said unemotionally

The guard nodded and Atem went back to work until he was done, he left his office to greet his friends that came to the celebration. He knew where to look since he discovered the secret tunnels around the palace. He walked to his room and opened the secret passage by pulling a lever and went towards the secret garden and smiled when he saw Tèa, Honda, Otogi, and the princess of Japan herself, Mai Valentine.

"What took you so long?" Mai teased as she admired her nails

"Well I had to do paperwork, prepare the festival, have meetings...shall I go on," Atem said with a smirk

"Very funny, at least you three boys don't have to go through hours of walking around with heals and tons of makeup on your face" Téa shot back as she and Mai showed them their uncomfortable shoes

"Fine you two win," Honda said as he laughed a little

"Besides at least we don't have to wear poofy dresses that make you fall" Otogi snickered but then yelped when he was pushed into the pond

Téa and Mai laughed except for Atem and Honda who stared at them in surprise since they lost their composure as a person of high rank.

"Wow, what happened?" Téa asked innocently

"You've must've slipped," Mai said as she and Téa grinned at each other

"Very funny you two," Otogi said as he got out the pond

The five laughed and talked for hours until Seth came in and surprised everyone except for Atem.

"Your grandfather is looking for you," Seth said bluntly and soon Atem ran out of the garden to meet his grandfather

"Wow, he runs faster than a wolf" Mai commented as she stared at the empty corridor that trailed dust

"His grandfather is a member of the court and can be frightful when he wants to be," Seth said as he remembered the time Atem got a lecture for being late

"Well let's get going before someone sees that we're gone," Téa said as she left the garden

"Come you two, I can't have my guards reported missing," Mai said as she dusted her dress and walked down a different corridor

Seth saw them leave and he left towards a corridor that led to his room. Atem found his grandfather and composed himself when he walked into his office.

"Grandfather, you wanted to see me?" Atem said as he closed the doors behind him

"Yes, Isis's visions have shown more of what's going to happen because the woman is now smiling every time we mention what she saw," Shimon said as he pouted

"You know that when Isis says too much the predictions won't come true," Atem said as he chuckled

"Well...being curious killed the cat but satisfaction brought it back," Shimon said with a smile

"Well is that all?" Atem asked

"Yes, now go do your duties," Shimon said

Atem left and went back to his room, he suddenly saw another naked woman in his room and immediately called his guards to take her out. Atem pulled his hair and decided to skip his bath and just change into his nightclothes and sleep until dawn.


	4. Egypt pt2

Yami awoke to the rays of sunlight on his face, he stretched his sore muscles and got up to pack up his sleeping mat. The others were waking up as well and began to look around the oasis for food.

"What is this?" Malik asked as he held the foreign fruit in his hand (its a date)

"I don't know...I wish Rebecca were here. She would know" ryou said as he examined the fruit himself

Jonouchi ate one of the dates, and he smiled as he began eating more of it. The other two Neko's shrugged and ate the fruit anyway, now knowing that it wasn't poisonous.

"Yami, aren't you going to eat?" Malik asked his friend

"I'll eat later," Yami said as he readied the horses

"But there might not be another paradise like this for miles," Ryou said in concern for his friend

Yami ignored their concern and saddled up to catch up on lost time. The others looked at their friend with worry before packing up their camp. Ryou filled the canteens with water, Malik picked fruits, and Jonouchi readied their horses for them.

"Let us move," Yami said sternly once the other three Neko's got everything ready

They nodded and followed Yami to the desert once more to search for Yugi. The man who took Yugi was going to pay, and Yami knew he and his friends were going to get in trouble when the emperor finds out they left the protection of Japan.

~Meanwhile with Lord Mazaki~

The Lord banged his head on his desk as he kept hearing the baby Neko cry all day and night, and he thought the Neko would grow tired of his crying, but he was wrong about that, though.

"WILL SOMEONE SHUT THAT CREATURE UP!" Lord Mazaki yelled as he pulled his hair

The servants nodded back in fear and went to calm yugi down, but nothing they did would get him to stop crying, yugi ate little since he didn't like the food or milk they gave him. And Mazaki didn't want to give his Pharaoh a gift that cried to much.

"I'll be ruined if I give that creature to the Pharaoh" Mazaki groaned as he placed his hands on his desk in frustration

What he didn't know about Neko's is that when you threaten their young, the dominant of the pair will go and eliminate the threat, but since Yugi's father is dead, his mother will have to save him, himself. Mazaki paced back and forth and knew he would have to leave for the palace soon, or else he would cause suspicion. He ordered his servants to pack his things and ready his horse to go for the palace before sundown.

~With Yami and Friends~

Yami wore his hood and a piece of fabric across his face, so only his eyes showed, to keep the bugs from getting in his mouth. Jono, Malik, and Ryou done the same thing, but Malik was having a tough time getting used to something covering his face.

"Malik stop fussing" Yami scolded in his motherly tone

"Yami you're doing it again," Jonouchi said as he received a glare from Yami

"Doing what?" Yami asked with narrowed eyes

"I know losing Yugi is taking a toll on you, but we will find him," Ryou said in comfort as Yami sighed and turned to look at the desert ahead

Unknown to the four Neko's, they were being watched by a group of bandits along with their leader, the Thief King himself.

"Look at that boys, a few travelers on their merry way" Akiefa laughed as he saw the four Neko's in disguise

"Should we attack now, my king?" Asked one of the bandits

"Let them believe they are safe for now...but for now we keep following them," Akiefa said as he got on his horse and began to follow the neko's

"Yes my king," the bandit said with forced loyalty to the Thief King

Akiefa knew his men well, but the new recruits, he had to keep his eye on them since he knew many wanted his position in power and control.

~Nightfall~

Yami and the others made a fire and began to settle down for the night until bandits surrounded them. Ryou immediately hid behind Malik and said Neko was in a defense stance except for Yami and Jonouchi. Akiefa walked up to them while on his horse and stared at the cloaked Neko's in disguise and found the one with the brown doe eyes intriguing, but he immediately recovered his composure.

"Give us the riches you have, and we'll be on our way...no one gets hurt, and no fuss is made, Deal," Akiefa asked with a particular look in his eye

Yami glared at the man and noticed that he was wearing a pendant like the man who took his son away from him, he immediately narrowed his eyes and searched the group of bandits who were missing a pendant, and he saw the man who took his son. Jonouchi saw the look in his eye and had to restrain Yami from attacking the man.

"You!, where's is he!...where's my son!" Yami yelled as he struggled against Jono's grip

Akiefa was confused, but unknown to Yami, and he dropped the pendant he held in his cloak, the thief king noticed this and glared at his men.

"Bring me Kodak" Akiefa commanded as he glared at the pendant that is now in his hand

Akiefa's men were confused but obliged and caught Kodak trying to run away, they brought him to his knees in front of Akiefa, and the neko's were confused, while Yami tried to escape Jono's grip on him.

"Jono! let me go...now!" Yami said in anger

"No!, then you might do something you'll regret...think about what Yugioh would've have wanted," Jonouchi said as Yami stopped struggling

Jonouchi knew he hit a sore spot, but it was the only way to keep Yami from doing the wrong thing. Akiefa cared less for the neko's conflict but more of his expected betrayal by his men.

"Those who went on a scavenging trip...bring them to me" Akiefa ordered as more of his loyal men brought the recruits to their knees before him

Ryou looked at the thief king and wondered what he was doing, but he stayed quiet and minded his own. Akiefa had tan skin, white-grey hair, a scar under his right eye, with bright light grey eyes. Ryou noticed he wore a red robe that showed his chest, which, in his opinion, was very muscular with a gold belt holding it together.

"Now, you said you were going to scavenge a village in the borders of Egypt, around the time Lord Mazaki was looking for a gift for his Pharoah," Akiefa said in distaste

Ryou looked at Malik, and he shrugged, neither knew what was going on, but Yami listened, and if he found this Pharaoh, he would know where his son is in this hot forsaken desert. Jonouchi was worried about his friend, and he knew to lose his husband to a deadly sickness was hard since Yugi was only born a month after the entire ordeal.

"So what did my men do to cause you poor sacks to come to Egypt," Akiefa said with a cruel smile which hid anger

"They destroyed our village," Malik said in anger

"They killed almost everyone," Jono said in anger

"They tried to capture us..." Ryou said in the realization of why they wanted his people

"Catching on, capture a few foreigners for the Pharaoh to enjoy" Akiefa laughed as did his men except for those who feared their life

Yami glared at Kodak, and he just smiled at him, of course, he knew what they were, and the Thief King would want to sell them for a high amount of money. Kodak quickly took hold of Ryou and held a knife against his throat.

"Kodak what are you are doing," Akiefa said with boredom in his voice

"You don't know what they are, do you," Kodak said as he laughed maniacally

"No...nor do I care," Akiefa said as he looked at Kodak plainly

Kodak smiled and pulled Ryou's hood, but his ears camouflaged with his white hair. Kodak was shocked, but Akiefa was getting annoyed, but one look at Ryou; he felt connected to him. Ryou looked at the thief king and felt the same; their eyes showed a hint of pink before it disappeared.

"What!, but they have cat-like appearances!" Kodak claimed as he stared at Akiefa who laughed along with his loyal men

"Cats?, have you gone mad," Akiefa said as he and more of his men laughed

Akiefa regained his composure and ordered his men to 'take care of Kodak and the men with him,' Ryou knew what that meant but didn't bother to feel pity since they brought it upon themselves. He fixed his hood and the fabric that covered his mouth to give him a sense of security. Yami glared at the ground, and he got on his horse and rode off, leaving Jonouchi, Malik, and Ryou behind.

"He's going to get himself killed" Jono muttered as he stared at the disappearing figure before him

"So what's his hurry to run off," Akiefa said as he startled Ryou

Ryou moved away from Akiefa a little and kept eye contact but found it hard not to remain quiet in the presence of this man.

"The men that you ordered to...they took something close to our friend, but we don't know if he's still alive," Ryou said as he looked in the direction Yami went

"So it's a relative, friend, lover" Akiefa asked as he fiddled with his knife

"His child," Ryou said before he could stop it

Akiefa stopped his fiddling, and suddenly he boiled in anger. He hid his anger and kept his composure and acted like he didn't care at all.

"Your friend is going to get killed, he doesn't know the way to palace let alone all of Egypt," Akiefa said as he petted his horse

Ryou knew what this man was doing and found it amusing for the man to offer his help to locate Yugi and Yami.

"And, we can manage," Ryou said as he played along with his little game

Jonouchi and Malik saw the two talking, and immediately Jonouchi pulled Malik aside and ran his hand over his face.

"Please tell me he didn't just find his true mate," Jono said as he covered his eyes

"He did and with a thief...did not see that one coming," Malik said as he pointed at Akiefa

"This is going to be hard now that Ryou found his mate," Jonouchi said as he narrowed his eyes at the two love birds

Ryou finished the game Akiefa played and went towards his two friends near their horses. They looked at him, but he shrugged it off and found it less concerning.

"He said he can help" Ryou whispered happily

"Really?, I didn't catch any of that in your conversation," Malik said as he crossed his arms

"Trust me...he may be a thief, but he knows what secret messages are," Ryou said with a smile

"Then let us go find Yami and Yugi before something else does," Jonouchi said as he got on his horse as did the other two neko's

The three neko's left, and Akiefa ordered his men to hide the bodies of the traitors before they leave for their secret hideout. Akiefa left them as he always did and followed the three nekos at a close but a comfortable distance. With his knowledge, they found their way in Egypt, but the real challenge was finding where Yami had gone since they had arrived at the palace a week later.


	5. A Week Earlier

Yami rode his horse towards the direction of the Egyptian palace. He remembered the night his son was taken, and that's what made him angry. He believed that he failed to protect him, and Jono mentioning his late lover was a low blow. Yami has never mentioned him in a while, and hopefully, he would tell yugi when he would eventually ask about his actual father.

'Don't worry Yugi I'm coming' Yami thought with narrowed eyes

Yami didn't stop riding his horse for two days, and once he did, the horse almost collapsed in exhaustion, feeling guilty Yami gave him more of his water and food so they would be ready to leave sooner than later. The horse he had was cream colored and had white-tipped ears. Once his horse was ready, Yami rode off again and only stopped when he saw a city and a very large building. He rode into town and found many things, but he was only concerned about finding his son. People offered him things to buy, but he kindly refused.

* * *

 **At the Palace**

* * *

Atem was in a meeting, and the priests for once didn't break out into an argument over something so little. Isis still kept smiling, and many of them were worried about the odd behavior.

"Isis please tell us what you saw" Shimon pleaded

"I'm not as desperate as Shimon, but many of us are curious Isis," Mahad said as his wife turned to him and whispered in his ear

Mahad grinned and whispered the information to the other priests. Shimon gave his biggest grin as Atem sat on his throne, confused about the sudden smiles directed at him.

"What?" Atem asked he gave a confused look

"Nothing" they all answered with a smile

Atem dismissed the meeting and got ready for the celebration that was being held later in the afternoon. He dressed in his usual clothing but more formal. He had guards on either side of him, along with his priests behind him. Many people cheered for their Pharaoh. The streets of the city were crowded but gave space for ones riding horses.

"My Pharaoh should we keep an eye out for the trouble maker," A guard asked as they strolled through the city

"No, Isis said there is no threat, your only priority is to protect the people," Atem said as he looked at the crowds

The guard only nodded his head and turned to look at the road ahead of him. Atem had a wonderful time when someone in a light brown hood and mask caught his attention from the crowd. And he decided to get to know that person by disguising himself.

"My Pharaoh...you will need this" Isis said as she handed Atem a blue hooded cloak

"Thank you Isis," Atem said with a smile

Isis distracted the guards as he got off his horse quietly and put on the cloak. It covered him perfectly, and no one knew he was the Pharaoh at all. He walked up towards the masked stranger and tapped his shoulder, which startled the young man.

"Hello," Atem said with a smile

The young man stayed quiet, but when he looked at the older king, atem held his gaze at the stranger who refused to look at him.

"May I help you?" The stranger asked

"Oh...I wanted to ask if you're from around Egypt since you stand out from the crowd" Atem said as he gestured to the people staring at the stranger

"No, I'm a...traveler, that's it...and I'm only here on business, so I'll be on my way," he said as he quickly grabbed his horse and tried to walk away from Atem

Atem followed him, and the stranger was now getting annoyed at his antics. Soon he stopped by an alley and glared at the ground before Atem.

"Can you stop following me!" He said angrily

"Well I'm just curious," Atem said with a smirk

The young man shook his head, but he soon caught sight of a carriage which confused him since everyone here used horses. Soon enough, Atem caught his confused stare.

"That's Lord Mazaki, he loves power and wishing his favor for the Pharoah" Atem said bitterly

* * *

 _ **~Yami POV~**_

He saw the mysterious man stare at the carriage with hate. He didn't care about what the man felt now that he could leave without attracting his attention. He quietly left him with his horse and walked away until he was grabbed by the said man.

"Thinking you can walk away is quite amusing" Atem smirked

"Well, it was worth a ...Try!" Yami said as he tried to kick the royal

Atem caught his foot and avoided the attack and pinned Yami against the wall. Yami glared at him, and when he stared into crimson eyes and crimson into amethyst, a hint of pink was shown and quickly disappeared. The sound of footsteps made Yami come back from his daze, and he quickly struggled to get free. Atem saw this and smirked a little; he reached to pull off the mask covering the young neko's face, but once he heard his grandfather, he got distracted, and the Neko got away from his grasp. Yami ran as fast as he could and felt guilty for leaving the horse, but he pushed the thought aside and hid from the man that had annoyed him so much.

'The nerve of that man!' Yami thought as narrowed eyes stared at the ground

Yami heard laughter and music in the city he was in but didn't pay any attention to it, but a familiar cry brought back his senses.

"Yugi" Yami whispered with wide eyes

Yami ran towards the crying, and the singing and laughter stopped with only the cries of a child filling the air. Yami stopped running when he saw the crowd and found the man that destroyed his village and took his infant son.

* * *

 _ **~Atem POV~**_

The younger man that he met was still on his mind but if he showed to be distracted, his people would question his leadership. Atem was now back on his horse along with his priest until Lord Mazaki came to greet him and he had to resist the urge of rolling his eyes at the man.

"Pharaoh!, wonderful celebration as always," Mazaki said as he bowed before Atem

"Get to the point Lord Mazaki," Atem said sternly as he knew what Mazaki was capable of

"Of course," mazaki said as he used a cloth to wipe the sweat off his forehead "I bring a gift from a far off land and the poor thing was all alone when I found it so I thought why not the Pharaoh take it," Mazaki said the lie as if it was freshwater

Atem stared at him with no emotion and turned to his priest but they all had the same face as him. Mazaki brought the basket with the baby Neko and its cries were all anyone can hear.

"As you can see he doesn't like me and my servants that much" Mazaki grumbled

Atem looked in the basket and his eyes widened at the cat-like features it possessed. He focused his gaze on the child but soon stared at Mazaki sternly for what his gain in this situation would be.

"All I ask is you take the creature and I won't have to see it again, I need sleep and so do my men," Mazaki said as he gestured to the half-asleep guards

Atem got off his horse and walked towards the baby Neko and carried him, of course, yugi struggled with the scent of another and not his mother but when he found hints of his scent on the stranger he stopped crying and looked around the crowd.

"Look at that he stopped crying," Shimon said with a chuckle

'What are you looking for little one' Atem wondered as yugi did not dare look at him

* * *

 **(No one POV)**

* * *

Everyone stared at the child in amazement for they have never seen a cat-like creature and thought the goddess Bast have sent them this creature as thanks. Yami saw his child in the arms of a stranger and he felt protective along with a bit of anger. He saw a blonde woman come up next to Atem to see what the fuss was about and panicked and looked around the crowd.

"You are an Idiot!" Mai said as she looked at the crowd

"Your highness calm down!" Otogi said as he tried to calm her down

"No, I will not calm down...He's holding a Neko!" Mai yelled as her hands were at her sides as she yelled

Honda and Otogi paled and looked at the crowd and had Mai walking back with them. Atem was confused about what the fuss was about since it made Mai afraid of the child he held in arms.

"I suggest you return it to its mother because people who take Neko children often end up dead!" Mai said as she got on her horse and rode off along with her guards to the Egyptian palace

Lord Mazaki paled and looked at the crowd and soon found himself tackled to the ground as Yami stood above him. Guards immediately reacted as did Atem since he met this stranger already. Yami removed his hood and mask to reveal a pale face along with rose amethyst eyes and cat-like features, staring at the lord with hate.

"Give me back my son," Yami said sternly as it shocked many people

"He said you abandoned your son," Seth said as his blue sapphire eyes glared at Yami

"Really. he's the man that came to Japan, attacked my village, killed numerous of my people, and took my son from my home and I had to travel all the way here to get him!...now tell me did I abandon my son" Yami said with anger

Atem glared at the lord but kept his gaze at the foreign beauty before him. He looked around and saw many of his people staring and whispering.

"Arrest Lord Mazaki and his trial will be held tomorrow," Atem said loudly for everyone to hear "come with me to the palace, you have to tell the court what happened," Atem said as he outstretched his hand while holding yugi with the other

Yami hesitated since he did not know the man before him but when he looked into his eyes he knew who he was finally, he took his hand and Atem smiled and gave Yugi back to Yami. The young Neko smiled as he finally had Yugi back in his arms and the child was resting peacefully against his chest. Atem smiled at the scene and soon glared at Mazaki for kidnapping a child.

"Let us head back to the palace but the celebration shall commence I assure you," Atem said to his people and priest

Yami was going to walk away slowly but Atem caught him and lifted him up bridal style and put him on his horse with Yugi still in his arms. Yami blushed furiously at the sudden contact but paid no mind to it as he snuggled yugi close to him. Atem had a smile on his face as he didn't pay any mind to the smiles on the priests' faces. They all rode home and Atem had his arm around Yami's waist which made the Neko blush brightly and luckily he had his head down as he held yugi close to him.

* * *

 **At The Palace**

* * *

Yami was in a comfortable room that had a crib prepared for yugi along with bottles of milk. Yami knew Yugi didn't really like the milk given to him since he was very thin. From his bag, he pulled out some seeds and planted them in an empty pot and grew white flowers quickly with a bit of Neko magic. He picked the flowers and added the petals in the milk so it wouldn't go to waste then he shook the bottle and began to feed Yugi.

"You look happy," A voice said which made Yami jump a little as he looked at the direction of the door

"Oh...its you, yes I'm very happy to have my son back," Yami said as he didn't look at the Pharaoh

"You're confused I presume," Atem said with a soft smile

"You pretended to be a villager and now you are a royal?" Yami said bluntly

"Not confused then but more intrigued," Atem said as he stood before Yami

Yami scoffed and Yugi only stared at the two men as he ate his meal but again didn't pay attention to his mother's advice and got hiccups and began to get fussy as Yami laughed a little.

"He looks just like you" Atem commented with a smile

Yami remembered a memory when his late lover wanted their child to look like Yami when it's born and his wish did come true when Yugi was finally born.

"My friends tell me that a lot," Yami said with a smile

Atem smiled at the young Neko as he handled yugi with the utmost care as any mother should but what confused Atem was to why Yami acted like a mother more than a father.

"Your confused" Yami commented as he put yugi to bed as his comment made Atem blush a little

"No, just curious as to why you act more like a mother than a father," Atem asked making the Neko stop and stare at him in confusion

"What?...oh...I'm his parent but I'm not his father I'm his mother" Yami tried to explain but began to get nervous

"So he's adopted?" Atem questioned

"No...he's Ummm" Yami tried to explain to Atem

"Then he's your son but the woman in your life didn't want him" Atem tried again to answer his own question

"What?, No!" Yami said as he began to get nervous

"Then..." Atem shut up when Yami glared at him and smiled sheepishly

"No, I...I...I gave birth to my son, it's rare among our kind but it is common among our people" Yami explained as he stared at his fidgeting hands

Atem was shocked at the news and Yami began to worry he'll faint but he regained his composure and nodded his head. Yami smiled but it dropped when he remembered the princess of Japan here in Egypt.

"Does the princess of Japan know I'm here?" Yami asked in worry

"Yes, why?" Atem answered as he looked at the worried Neko

"Neko's aren't allowed to leave Japan...not for anything" Yami stated as he stared at the crib next to him

Atem and Yami stood in silence as Atem respectively sat on a chair near the bed Yami sat on. Soon the doors burst open and Yugi awoke because the noise scared him and began to cry. Yami began to soothe his son as Atem handled the situation.

"Shhh, it's alright little one," Yami said as he cradle and rocked yugi in his arms

"What is it?" Atem said sternly to his guard

"The Princess of Japan wishes to speak to you my Pharaoh," the guard said

"I'll speak to her in a moment, now go and do not disturb this room unless it's necessary," Atem said with a certain look in his eye

Atem sighed and heard Yami sing a lullaby as he cradled yugi to sleep again, Atem smiled and secretly wondered what his child would look like if he were to ever marry.

"I must go but no one shall disturb you two so long as you stay in this room," Atem said softly

"I understand...by the way I've never got your name," Yami said as he stared at Atem

"My name is Atem, King of Egypt," Atem said with a smile

"My name is Yami and the little one in my arms is named Yugi," Yami said as he stared at the child with a smile

Atem departed from the room which is supposed to be for his personal servant but he did not have one nor did he care if he caused a few disapproving lectures. He walked towards his room and pulled the lever that opened the entrance and began walking to the secret garden to meet Mai.


	6. A Week Earlier pt2

Atem walked through the corridors that led to the secret garden. He thought about what he would say to Mai when she would lecture him about Yami and Yugi. Once he arrived at the garden, he saw Mai staring at the water with no one with her.

"I presume you're angry?" Atem asked as he leaned against the stone wall

"Well it's not every day you find a Neko out of Japan," Mai said coldly

"He only came to find his son" Atem tried to say

"I understand that, but he broke a law that every Neko should obey Atem...my father will have to come and arrange his punishment that's what I want to talk to you about," Mai said as she finally faced Atem

Atem saw the worry and fear in her eyes as she mentioned the Neko's punishment. He began to fear for what the penalty might be and what it will do to Yami.

"What should we do?" Atem said finally after a long moment of silence

"From what I've heard the Neko village was destroyed...make it look like he was captured and brought to Egypt illegally with his son," Mai said as she gave Atem a cold glare

"I can not alter the trial Mai, you know this" Atem said softly

"It's either you do that, or my father does something worse," Mai said as she hugged herself

"What will he do?" Atem asked in worry

"He came here for his son...Neko's don't receive the death penalty, but since he came to Egypt, he will most likely be banished here and live his days..." Mai said hesitating to finish her sentence

"And what?, Mai," Atem said as he stared at her retreating form

"Without his son, family, and friends," Mai said finally as she left back to her room

Atem stayed in the garden for hours, and he finally decided to talk to Yami about the matter, and hopefully, he can run and hide while he still has a chance. Atem opened the secret door chamber, not noticing it led to the servant quarters that Yami currently stayed in.

* * *

 **With Yami**

* * *

Yami was going to go to bed when he heard the wall opening, not knowing what the sound was he got up to investigate. His ears twitched as did his tail, and the moment he found the open wall, he was suddenly pinned to the wall next to the opening.

"Yami?" Atem asked in confusion as he was tired

"Can you let go of me" Yami hissed as he struggled in Atem's iron grip

"Sorry," Atem said as he let go of Yami "I must be more tired than I thought," Atem said with a chuckle as he went to his room through the secret opening

Yami stared at the royal in confusion but then scoffed and decided to see if Yugi was still asleep. He walked towards the crib and found Yugi still asleep until he decides to wake up. Yami smiled sadly as his son's tail and ears reminded him of his late husband. Yugi has gotten some of his father's traits, but mostly, he looked like Yami.

"If only your father could've met you" Yami muttered softly

Unaware to Yami, Atem came back to his room since he took off his crown and left it on his bed when he heard Yami. Yami listened to his breathing and turned around to face him, and they just stared at each other until Yugi's cries filled the air, and soon, Yami had him in his arms.

"What happened to his father?" Atem asked with a bit of jealousy hidden in his tone

"Why is it your concern?" Yami asked as he narrowed his eyes

"I overheard you talking" Atem admitted as he walked towards the large bed and grabbed his crown

"I don't talk about him as much," Yami said sadly

"I understand, I haven't spoken about my father in years since I became Pharaoh at sixteen years of age," Atem said in understanding

Yami smiled at Atem and Yugi's cries stopped a while ago when he smelled a new scent, he turned to face Atem and immediately had a big smile on his face.

"Dada!" Yugi squealed as he stretched his hands out for him

"Dada?" Atem and Yami said in complete shock as Yugi turned to Yami

"Mama!" Yugi squealed happily as he yawned and was soon fast asleep

Yami and Atem stared dumbstruck at what happened, then Yami blushed madly as Atem smiled a little at the little outburst.

"Well he said his first words," Yami said with a nervous chuckle

"He's a smart one," Atem said as he cleared his throat nervously

"Yes he is...he's almost a year old and knows many things already," Yami said softly as he kept his eyes away from the Pharaoh

The room was silent for a few moments when Atem decided he should leave to his bed chambers and get some rest. Yami agreed and placed Yugi in his crib as he grabbed his nightclothes and went into the bathing chambers to get the dirt and sand off of him. The bathing chambers were large and had numerous bottles of oils, soaps, and towels. He finished his bath quickly and changed into his nightclothes. He wore a cotton crimson sleeve shirt along with long black pants that Yami tend to step on.

"Yugioh, I wish you were still here," Yami said softly as tears streamed down his face

Yami wiped his tears away and walked towards the bed; he made sure Yugi was still in his crib and fell into a deep slumber.

* * *

 **Morning**

* * *

Atem awoke to a baby crying, he looked out his window and saw that Ra has barely even touched the sky. Groaning, he reluctantly got up and began getting dressed for the day. He exited his room and went to the room next to him. He entered the room and found Yami cradling yugi in his arms, but Yugi kept crying.

"There, there little one...I'm here, I'm here" Yami soothed as Yugi still cried

Yami finally noticed Atem and had a faint blush on his cheeks as he realized Yugi woke up the Pharaoh. Atem chuckled and walked over to Yami and stopped once he was a few steps away from the young Neko.

"I see Yugi is keeping you busy," Atem said as he smiled at the child

"He is a morning Neko, as you humans would say it," Yami said as Yugi began to calm down

"You don't know much about human civilization" Atem stated as he began to form an idea

"I told you the day before, Neko's can't leave Japan," Yami said as Yugi began to look at his surroundings

"How about I show you around the kingdom...it might show you how humans interact," Atem said with a smile

"You mean like stealing, killing, destruction," Yami said with a bitter tone and looked away from Atem

Atem sighed and realized the Neko had been through so much to get yugi back and what his people must have gone through to escape the massacre.

"Not all humans are like that...give humans one more chance, and you may like what good things humans can do," Atem said softly

Atem placed his hand on Yami's shoulder, and a bolt of electricity shocked them and the two jumped away from each other. Yami stared wide-eyed at Atem's arm and saw the crimson swirling patterns beginning to form. Atem was staring at Yami's arm for the same reason, but his markings were amethyst colored.

"What did you do?" Yami said as he hugged his child closer to him

"I don't know...I didn't have anything to do with this" Atem said he tried to use his shadow magic to remove the markings on his right arm

"It won't come off," Yami said as he tried the same thing with his light magic once he set Yugi in his crib

The two stared at each other, and a servant opened the door, and when she saw the Neko and the Pharaoh, they both fainted from shock.

"Guards!" The servant yelled as she began rambling on how the incident occurred

Isis was preparing two beds and one crib for her two patients when her husband carried the young Neko bridle style, and Seth used his shadow magic to take Atem.

"Isis what happened?" Mahad asked as he placed Yami on a bed

"They simply fainted from shock," Isis said plainly as she grabbed a cup of water and dumped it over Atem's head

Atem immediately awoke, and he shook his head unknowingly splashing water on the floor. He looked around and found he was in the infirmary.

"What am I doing here?" Atem asked

"You and your friend fainted from shock, and I believe it was from those markings on both your right arms," Isis said as she checked yugi over

Yugi began to have tears form in his eyes as he saw new people besides his mother and his new father. He did the one thing he knew he could get his mother's attention...he cried. Isis winced as did Mahad and Seth when yugi began to cry; Yami awoke immediately and began tending to his son. Yugi stopped crying and had a smug smile on his face.

"He's trouble," Seth said as he narrowed his eyes at Yugi

Yugi began looking around and found Atem standing next to Seth; he smiled brightly and began to laugh.

"Dada!" Yugi said as he clapped his hands

His outburst shocked all three priests, Atem and Yami turned red. Yugi was too innocent for his good. Yami looked away from everyone, and Yugi began stretching his arms towards Atem.

"Looks like he imprinted on you" Seth stated as he was still in shock

"What will his father think?" Mahad said unknowingly making Yami feel uncomfortable

Atem began to feel jealous, but he didn't know why he looked at Yami and saw his features looked strained. Yugi still kept calling Atem his father, and Yami felt his throat tighten.

"Come let's give these two some privacy," Isis said as she ushered the two men out the infirmary

Atem felt awkward, and Yami still had Yugi in his arms and felt the same. The two didn't begin to talk until Yami broke the silence.

"Yugioh" Yami said softly

"What?" Atem asked in confusion

"The name of his father, I named my son after his father," Yami said sadly as he still kept his gaze away from Atem

"Oh..." Atem said as he finally realized why yugi didn't have a father figure "how?...forgive my prying but-" Atem said as he was cut off by Yami

"He got sick, a fever that only affected a few Neko's in Japan, I was only six months pregnant when he passed away," Yami said as he placed yugi in the crib as he wiped away a few stray tears

Atem hesitated at first, but he pulled Yami in a comforting hug, which at first shocked the Neko, but he leaned into Atem and cried for the first time after his husband's passing. Yami had a different way of coping, which is making himself distant and more stressed, but eventually, he had Yugi to keep him going.

"I may not know who he was, but he sounds like a good...cat-man?" Atem questioned with an awkward smile

Yami began to laugh, and soon, Atem started laughing as well. Yugi still smiled and gestured for Atem to carry him. Atem looked hesitant, but Yami grabbed Yugi and gave him to Atem. Yugi snuggled against Atem, the Pharaoh smiled and held yugi close.

* * *

 **With the Priests moments later**

* * *

Isis had her eyes closed, and her hand over her necklace with a smile plastered on her face. She saw the Pharaoh sitting on his throne with a stoic expression, but behind doors, he's capable of emotion towards people he trusts. Mahad gave her a questioning look, but her smile told him to wait after the trial.

"Lord Mazaki you are here today for the massacre of the Neko village and kidnapping of a child, how do you plead," Shimon said sternly as he read the crimes committed

"Not guilty" Mazaki growled

Everyone rolled their eyes and knew this would take long, but hopefully, it would be cut short by the end of the week.

"A witness places you in Japan when the deed was committed," Seth said sternly

"He must've mistaken me for another...have you noticed the creature looks exactly like our beloved Pharaoh" Mazaki said as he smiled a little

Téa sighed and slapped her hand over her face as she saw her uncle's stupidity. Yami watched from behind a curtain with Yugi sleeping in his arms. Mai glared at the man, and her father already received a letter from her stating what happened and why.

"Our late Pharaoh only had one child, Isis 's mother was there to witness it," Seth said coldly

"But remember our late Pharaoh used his harem girls before he met his wife," Mazaki said with pride

Yami stared at the man with disgust and began to walk away when he heard Atem yell angrily, which scared Yugi. He only whimpered, but Yami managed to calm him down before he began to cry.

"Mazaki if my father ever had any other children his harem would've claimed that he granted them with a child many years ago and I wouldn't be your current ruler today" Atem growled which surprised the people in the throne room

Yami stared at Atem in shock for not what he said but the fact that he growled. Atem didn't notice his sudden change, but his cousin quickly told the guards to take Mazaki back into the dungeon. Isis dismissed the guards, and with one glare from Mahad they left, now everyone in the throne room stared at Atem in shock.

"What?" Atem snapped

"You growled" Seth stated as he crossed his arms

"I...what?" Atem said dumbstruck

Yami smelled a fight, and Yugi quickly stopped it by his crying, and when Yami tried to calm him down, Atem was in front of him, and without a word, Yami let Atem take Yugi. Yugi began to calm down and yawned cutely as he began to sleep again. Everyone saw the scene and smiled a little, but the markings that were on their arms made them wonder what was happening to their Pharaoh.


	7. Current Time

Jonouchi, Ryou, and Malik stood on the borders of the Egyptian city with their guide right beside them. Akiefa didn't really care that he got them to the city he just enjoyed being close to the white-haired Neko.

"Now that I got you here I'm leaving back to my hideout," Akiefa said rudely as he mounted his horse

"Thank you," Ryou said softly

Akiefa only stared at Ryou and gave a faint smile as he ordered the horse to run into the desert. Jonouchi only stared at Ryou before he sighed and snapped his fingers in front of the smaller Neko.

"What?" Ryou said as he came out of his trance

"You and a thief...never thought I would see that coming," Malik said as he mounted his horse and ordered it to walk into the city

Jono and Ryou followed Malik into the city and there they saw many strange things. People offered them things to buy but Yami was the one who had the money that Rebecca gave them. So they politely declined and stayed on their horses, soon they decided to rest in the shade.

"I never thought Egypt would be so big," Jonouchi said as he looked at the people working in their stalls

"Well we're never going to find Yami if we stay here," Malik said as he stretched his arms

Ryou and Jonouchi didn't hear him since they were in their own conversation about Egypt's city. Malik rolled his eyes and began to walk away from the two Neko's. He looked around the market and found many new scents and objects to observe.

'I wonder how Yami reacted to this stuff' Malik thought as he saw a human child playing with a strange toy

Malik kept walking until a man grabbed hold of his arm and pulled him close to the stranger's chest. Malik fought against him but the stranger just laughed at him.

"Feisty I like that in a person" the man crooned as he leaned in to kiss Malik

"Let go of me!" Malik said as he punched the man on the nose

The man let go of Malik to tender his nose, Malik took that opportunity to run but he didn't get far as he was surrounded by more men.

"You're going to pay for that," the man said as he began to show his bloody broken nose "get him!" The man yelled angrily

Malik looked at the men creeping closer to him and before he could fight back palace guards surrounded the criminals and fought them and not long they were all arrested.

"All right men take them to the palace for trial" Marik yelled out as his men carried out the order

Malik only watched and soon he was safe from any harm, he took a deep breath of air for he just realized he just escaped the cruel hands of those men. Mark noticed the young Neko and raised his eyebrow as he never saw this man in the city before.

'Who is that?' Marik thought as he approached the young Neko carefully but it was useless since Malik heard him coming

"Thank you for helping me," Malik said as he hugged himself for protection

"Well that's practically-...your welcome," Marik said as he saw Malik's trembling form

"Now excuse me I have to get back to my friends," Malik said as he walked past Marik

Before Marik could turn around, Malik blended in with the crowd of people in the market. Marik found the young man quite peculiar, he has always been informed of everything since the city practically talked about new people coming to Egypt for trade or business.

* * *

 **With the Neko's**

* * *

Jono and Ryou were worried since Malik practically left without saying a word. Jono paced around the alley they were in and the horses they had were already taken care of by the owner's family business in the city. Once Malik came into the alley, Jonouchi and Ryou immediately hugged him.

"Where did you go!" Jono and Ryou practically yelled

"Just went out for a walk, no big deal," Malik said as he went back to being his stubborn self

Malik kept his experience to himself since that's all he's ever done, he practically had no more family since his brother and sister were killed in the massacre.

"Let's keep walking, see if we find Yami," Jonouchi said

The other two nodded and began to walk around the city once more, they saw more strange humans with even more strange clothing. Jono wasn't looking where he was going and bumped into someone.

"Watch where your going," A certain blue-eyed priest said angrily

"I was going to apologize but I might not say it at all" Jonouchi said bitterly to the priest

Ryou and Malik looked at each other and before any of them knew it Jono and the priest were having an argument. The two looked around and saw palace guards laughing at the priest's losing argument. Jonouchi, however, glared angrily at the tall man.

"Look I don't have time arguing with someone like you," Seth said as he fixed his clothes

"Then you shouldn't have been standing in the middle of the road," Jonouchi remarked making the guards snicker

Seth turned to face the person he argued with and found golden eyes, pink-tinted their eyes then disappeared as if nothing happened.

"And you should have watched where your going" Seth sneered

"And how does this differ from you standing in the middle of the road?" Jonouchi stated with a raised brow

Seth was getting really infuriated with the blonde man in front of him before he could respond as well, a strong gust of wind came signaling a sandstorm coming in an hour or two. The three Neko's hoods came off and once everyone came to their sense they stayed quiet at the sight of more cat-like creatures.

"You're just like him," Seth said in shock

Before the three Neko's knew what was happening they were being escorted by guards toward the royal palace. Jonouchi glared at the priest and Seth returned the glare. Akiefa happened to be watching with an amused smirk before entering the palace himself through the secret passages.

* * *

 **~With Yami~**

* * *

Yami was playing with Yugi and whenever Atem came to check on them yugi would call him his father which would still make the both of them blush madly. But today, Atem was busy with his duties to come and spend time with the two Neko's.

"You are becoming a big Neko, little one," Yami said as he ticked Yugi

Yugi laughed and began to pat his hands on the floor. Yami laughed and he soon heard a knock on his door, still feeling protective Yami put Yugi in his crib and made his way over to the door. He opened it to find Atem with a stern expression on his face, Yami looked over at Yugi and then looked at Atem.

"Um...I thought you were busy" Yami said nervously

"May I come in?" Atem said sternly

Yami jumped at the sound of his voice but let him in the room, yugi brightened when he saw Atem but stayed quiet once smelling the anger coming off him.

"Why didn't you tell me there was more of your kind here in Egypt," Atem said once he faced Yami

"You never asked" Yami stated a stern tone

"Are they looking for the both of you?" Atem said as he stood in front of Yami

"Yes, I left my company in the desert the moment I heard my son was in your kingdom," Yami said as he glared at Atem

Atem ran his hands down his face before sighing, he should've interrogated Yami but the Neko wanted time alone with his son.

"They're here in the palace, guards are escorting them to your room as we speak...and I want all of your statements before Mazaki's trial," Atem said angrily as he had his back turned towards Yami

"You'll get your statement and after that, I'm leaving," Yami said as he kicked Atem out of his room

Atem was surprised but still kept his grim expression on his face. Unaware of the two Mazaki hired an assassin to kill Yami and Yugi. The assassin moved through the walls but before he could surprise Yami with his attack, Akiefa had his knife ready and plunged it into the man's gut.

"Hurting a parent and a child...that's low even for me," Akiefa said darkly

The assassin slumped and before he could fall through the wall Akiefa grabbed him and decided to leave it as a gift for the Pharaoh. He dumped the body in the throne room and stayed in the shadows to present the body himself.


	8. Mazaki's Trial

Yami was angrily packing the things he would need to go back to Japan until his room door was opened and three familiar neko's were pushed inside.

"You all will be acquainted here after we get your statements," Seth said sternly as he closed the door

Yami smiled and once the three Neko's noticed him they smiled brightly before hugging him. Yugi pouted at all the attention they were giving each other and began to whine. Yami giggled and took Yugi out of his crib and carried him on his hip.

"How did you all find me?" Yami said as he looked at the three neko's

"Well you wouldn't believe us if we told you," Jonouchi said as he laughed at Ryou's red face

"Ryou found his true mate but turns out he's a thief" Malik stated in amusement and laughed at the face Yami gave them

"A thief?" Yami said slowly as Ryou nodded "I never saw that coming" Yami muttered

Yugi saw his mother's friends and smiled then laughed at the face Jonouchi made at him. Soon they all talked and played with Yugi until he fell asleep. Yami was still angry at Atem for getting angry for things he should've asked instead of letting him explain everything.

"So how did you find Yugi?" Ryou asked as he watched the baby Neko sleep

"A man gave my son to the Pharaoh and he must've known that I was near because he caught my scent" Yami explained "I let my instincts take over and attacked the man that took Yugi and almost had myself killed before the Pharaoh told his guards to lower their weapons," Yami said as he looked at his friends

"So the Pharaoh took care of you and Yugi?" Malik asked in suspicion

"Yes, I only planned to stay for a short while and I'm leaving right after the trial is over and this has been going on for a week already," Yami said with a tired smile

Yami used his hand to cover his mouth as he let out a yawn, the others laughed lightly as they saw their friend's sleepy state.

"You get some sleep, we'll watch over yugi for you," Jonouchi said with a smile

Yami didn't bother to argue, he was indeed tired from getting up early to tend to yugi and late at night to put yugi to bed. Yami walked towards his bed and once he laid down upon it he went to sleep. Ryou placed a blanket over him and began to look around the room as Malik took a light cat nap as Jono watched over them.

* * *

 **~With Atem~**

* * *

Atem was still a bit angry when Yami didn't tell him there was more neko's in his kingdom but it was partially his fault for not asking if he had company. Atem sighed and ran his hands down his face as he paced around his study. Seth told him about the other three neko's a few minutes before he went to confront Yami.

'I'm such a fool...me and my stubborn self' Atem thought as he groaned

Soon Shimon came in the study and blankly stared at his pacing grandson. He shook his head and used his magic to make a pot of water appear over Atem's head and one snap of his fingers made the distracted royal come to his senses.

"Gah!..." Atem sputtered "What in Ra's name!" Atem said angrily as he glared at his grandfather

"Now don't give me that look...what's troubling you?" Shimon said as he sat on a chair near Atem's desk

Atem sighed but explained the entire situation and the little detail that he forgot to mention to Yami before he was kicked out of his room...literally, Shimon laughed at this but either way composed himself but kept silent chuckles to himself.

"And now he says he's leaving by the end of the day," Atem said as he ran his hand through his hair

"Well by our laws he can't leave until Mazaki is given his punishment" Shimon stated

"Grandfather...he has to, the emperor of Japan is coming in a month and when he does come he'll take the child away from Yami...the reason why he came to Egypt," Atem said sadly

Shimon had no words but he couldn't break Egyptian laws, and this law is what keeps Yami here. Soon they heard a very loud shriek and they quickly ran to find the problem coming from Yami's chamber.

* * *

 **~With Yami~**

* * *

Yami woke up three hours later to the sound of panicked voices, he got up and stretched and blinked a couple of times to clear his sight. He saw his friends huddled in a corner panicking about something. He got up and walked over to them.

"How do we tell Yami?" Malik asked nervously

"Tell me what?" Yami asked as he made Malik jump a few feet in the air

"Yami!...we thought you were still sleeping," Ryou said as he fidgeted a little

Yami didn't really listen to them as he looked around for yugi but didn't find him anywhere in the room.

"Where's my son?" Yami asked as worry began to flash across his face

"Well you see, Ryou got locked in a closet and we tried to get him out but it took a few hours and once we got him out...yugi was no longer with us" Jonouchi explained quickly

"WHAT!" Yami yelled in worry

Yami started to panic and soon Atem and his grandfather came in along with the other priests to see what all the commotion is about.

"What's going on?!" Atem said sternly as he saw Yami's panicked state

"To put it plainly...Ryou got locked in a closet when he saw something shiny and it took me and Jono to get him out and after three hours we got him out but we lost the baby due to being distracted" Malik said plainly

Atem became protective but he didn't know why the child wasn't his but he did belong to a worried mother.

"I will lead the search for your son, you may come along as you wish," Atem said as Yami nodded but Yugi's scent caught his attention

Yami ran out of the room and didn't know he was being followed by Atem, Yami took twists and turns and came upon two large doors.

"Why did you run to the throne room?" Atem said as he caught his breath

"He's in here...but his scent is faint," Yami said as worry took over and he opened the door and found Yugi's toy near the pillar

Yami ran up to the toy and picked it up, he noticed the strange red liquid and when he looked at the pillar he saw a body. He stumbled back but Atem caught him and turned him around to face his chest so Yami wouldn't look at the horrific sight before them.

"Don't look" Atem said sternly but yet with a soft tone

Yami was petrified and burst into tears and after a few minutes the two adults heard a child's laughter and they found yugi behind the Atem's throne. Yami was relieved and cradled yugi in his arms once he reached the throne. Atem smiled at the scene but soon that smile ended with anger when he noticed the Thief King himself.

"Well Pharaoh did you like my gift," Akiefa said as he laughed

"You nearly caused him to get a heart attack," Atem remarked angrily

"What?...no thanks to saving him and the child, the man was an assassin he won't be missed," Akiefa said as he crossed his arms to mock Atem

Atem raised his brow at this but once he took a closer look at the body he found Mazaki's seal along with the tattoo of marking the dead man an assassin. He looked up to glare at Akiefa but the said man was gone.


	9. Mazaki's Trial pt2

Yami hugged a laughing yugi while Atem called for his guards. Yami ignored them as he held yugi close to him, as he was not used to being the dominant male in parenting. Atem stared at Yami for a while and couldn't tear his gaze away from the younger male, the care he gave to his son reminded him of his own mother.

"My lord, shall we begin the trial" Mahad asked while hiding an amused smile as Atem snapped his gaze away from Yami

"Of course, bring Lord Mazaki in chains," Atem said not mentioning Akiefa at all "and have a servant clean up the blood," Atem said sternly

Mahad nodded and began to tell orders towards the two guards near the doors, Yami stared at atem for a while but it soon ended when he heard movement near him and his child. He thought of it as a servant but the feeling of danger was causing him to worry.

"Let's go back to our room little one," Yami said with a nervous smile as yugi looked at him with a confused stare

Yami began to walk away from the throne, then the markings on his arm began to burn, Yami winced and when he began to examine his arm he saw an assassin raising his sword at him and yugi. He covered his son with his body but the weapon never came down, he opened his eyes and saw that Atem has blocked the weapon with his own. Swords clashed once more and more guards came but the fight was over when Atem used his shadow magic to hold the assassin in place.

"Seize him" Atem ordered angrily

The guards took hold of the assassin and dragged him to the dungeons for his trial. Yami didn't even know he was shaking until Atem placed his hand on his shoulder.

"I'll lead you back to your room," Atem said softly

Yami nodded and began to walk with yugi still in his arms, not noticing that Atem was wincing at the pain on his arm that had his own markings.

"Lord Mazaki will receive his punishment for causing you and your family much pain," Atem said softly

"I know, but it is not him that I am concerned about right now," Yami said as he hugged yugi close to him

Atem stared at the young Neko and once they arrived at Yami's chambers, the two stood there for a while until yugi broke the silence.

"Dada!" Yugi said as he stretched his out towards Atem

"He wants you to carry him" Yami said as he blushed a little

"I've never carried a child before besides when we first met" Atem said nervously as he stared at the baby Neko

"It's alright, as long as he doesn't move around as much when you do" Yami said as he passed yugi to Atem

Atem held the growing child in arms and smiled softly, Yugi smiled and began to pull at Atem's blonde bangs, Atem winced but laughed either way.

"I don't understand why he-" Yami stopped himself before he continues

"Why he calls me his father?, I'm not quite sure on that either," Atem said in reassurance as he smiled at Yami

"Dada!" Yugi said cutely as he began to play with Atem's crown

"That's so cute!" Mana said as she heard what Yugi said to Atem

Yami and Atem jumped a little to the sound of mana's voice but realized she wasn't alone. Mai was with her since her guards were with Mazaki.

"So I see the little one imprinted on you" Mai said with a smirk "which makes the problem less of a problem," Mai said with a smile

"What's she talking about?" Yami asked as he saw the princess of Japan smile at him and Atem

"You'll see" Mai said as she left towards the throne room

Yami narrowed his eyes at Atem but he just gave the same confused stare as he did before. Yugi didn't like how the attention was being drawn away from him so he began to pull Atem's hair a bit harder.

"No Yugi" Yami said sternly as he took the child away from Atem

"For a small one, he can be fierce just like his mother" Atem joked which made Yami blush madly

Yami hid his face from Atem while Atem admired him without his knowledge, yugi liked Atem...he didn't know that Atem wasn't his biological father but he seemed fatherly to him so he considered him his father.

"Well, as you and your son along with the other Neko's stay in Egypt it's best if you dress more appropriately for the weather here," Atem said as he chuckled at Yami's expression

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" Yami asked as he looked at his clothes. He wore a blue sleeve shirt with a brown vest and pants with dark brown Japanese shoes

* * *

 _(Just picture flats)_

* * *

"Nothing, it's just that it's getting warmer when the dry season comes which is in a few days" Atem informed

"Well then...I'll give your culture a try," Yami said as he was about to enter his room but stopped and turned to Atem "and thank you for saving our lives," Yami said with a smile as he went inside his room to wear his new clothes

Atem sighed as he smiled, he soon left the corridor he was in to go to the throne room. Once he arrived he put on a stoic expression and went to take his seat on the throne. His counsel was already there and the guards escorted the neko's near Seth. Atem saw Yami dressed in a white dress with a golden belt around his waist which showed a few his feminine curves. He wore golden armbands on his wrist along with Egyptian sandals. He wasn't aware that he was staring at Yami way too long until Yami caught his look and blushed a little.

"Let the trial begin" Atem ordered once he regained composure

Seth nodded and began to read off a scroll of the crimes he committed against Egypt by threatening their ally Japan. Mai, of course, was present for the trial since it was her country that's been attacked by a lord of Egypt.

"Lord Mazaki you've been accused of attacking a Neko village of Japan, and by knowledge, it's under the protection of the Emperor of Japan" Atem said sternly as he stared the man down

Mazaki glared at the neko's but he soon came up with a lie to get him of the mess he got himself into. His intended target was still alive and breathing along with the pest he carried in his arms.

"I did no such thing my Pharaoh, I'm an innocent of this mess I merely found the boy alone around my travel in japan," Mazaki said as he tried to sound convincing

"Let's have the witnesses confirm that story" Atem said as he gestured for Isis to check the neko's memories

Isis went forward to Ryou and placed her right hand on her necklace and her left hand on Ryou's temple. She closed her eyes and saw the massacre, she saw Ryou crying over the loss of his only family and trying to help the injured and escorting them to a secret entrance that blurred her vision because of the neko's magic.

"Isis what did you see in his memories," Atem asked as the entire room stared at her

"He helped the injured then escorted them to a secret entrance but my vision blurred when I tried to get a closer look" Isis informed as she went towards Jonouchi

She saw the same except he saw the murder of his mother and father, him taking charge when he rallied a few of his kind to fight against the enemy. She then saw him run towards Yami who was chasing after a cloaked man who seemed to be holding something in arms. And him saving his friend from being crushed to death. Isis opened her eyes and stared at the court before her.

"When the massacre began he took charge to protect the weak and fought back with others against the enemy and him saving the life of his friend," Isis said as she stared at Yami

"So he saw who took his son and initiated the attack" Seth stated

"No...he did," Isis said as she pointed at Malik

Malik didn't like to be the center of attention but he didn't remember ever seeing Mazaki as he tried to save his brother and sister. Isis placed her hand on Malik's temple and began to see through his memories which shocked her more was that his family originated in Egypt which explains Malik's tan skin. She also saw his family had been brutally murdered by the attackers along with Mazaki holding the sword but it was vague since he only stared at the lifeless bodies of his family.

"Mazaki killed his family himself while the men he hired killed his people while others managed to escape," Isis said to everyone not mentioning Malik's heritage

"So you also become a murderer" Atem stated as he saw Mazaki pale a little

"Just tell the truth already Mazaki, you're lucky your niece didn't want to come to the trial not that I blame her this is very dishonoring towards her family name," Mai said with authority as she glared at Mazaki as she was dressed in royal Egyptian but Japanese gown

Mazaki argued but it was futile, he lost the trial, either way, Téa was in her room probably being angry at her uncle for the deeds he's done towards the Neko village.

"Isis, May you please check Yami's memories," Atem said as a hint of worry flashed before his eyes

"Of course my Pharaoh" Isis said as she checked Yami's memories but they were vague but a certain symbol caught her eye and she went further to see what the thief king had to do with the issue at hand

"Mazaki hired some of the Thief King's men to attack the village in Japan, he had no knowledge they ever went to Japan, he finished them off himself," Isis said as she stopped to catch her breath "the thief's men are buried somewhere in the desert" Isis informed as she stared at the court

"We will deal with the thief king later once this issue has been resolved," Atem said with high authority

Yami sighed in relief as he knew Mazaki would receive his punishment soon, he looked down upon the sleeping neko in his arms and smile softly as yugi snuggled more into Yami's chest. The trial continued for two more hours until Mazaki was given his punishment.

"Mazaki you are stripped of your title as a Lord, you will also be given to the Japanese government for their version of your trial for the attack on the Neko village" Atem stated firmly as he saw Mazaki boil in anger "take him to the dungeons" Atem ordered as two guards led a struggling Mazaki away to the dungeons and await his trial in Japan.

"Now for the assassins, we shall deal with tomorrow...court adjourned," Atem said as he stood from his throne

The moment the trial ended yugi awoke and yawned cutely, he looked at his surroundings and found Atem walking out the throne room doors. Yugi smiled brightly and began to laugh which caught everyone's attention at the child's laughter.

"Dada!" Yugi yelled happily as he stretched his arms out towards Atem

"Dada?" Seth questioned as he looked at the small Neko child

"Oh no" Jonouchi groaned as he realized what happened which caught Seth's interest

Yami and Atem blushed madly at Yugi's sudden outburst which made everyone in the room demand answers from the two.

"Why is the child calling you his father?" Mahad asked as he stared the young king

"He must've imprinted on me when I first met him" Atem said as walked towards Yami and Yugi

"That's what I thought," Jonouchi said which caught everyone's attention

"Then explain," Seth said sternly which made Jono laugh which confused everyone

"I can't believe I'm the only one that knows all about Neko children...and I'm not even a parent," Jono said as he chuckled a bit but composed himself "when a baby Neko imprints on another person they would immediately call them their parent, mostly it happens when neko's find their true mate or when they're in that stage when they claim everyone's their parent" Jonouchi informed

Everyone stared at Jonouchi as if he were insane but the look on his face told them otherwise. Once Jono realized what he said, immediately he knew what the princess of Japan was going to do.

"We just fell for your plan didn't we," Jonouchi said plainly as he narrowed his eyes at Mai

"Yes, yes you did...and once my father arrives he won't be able to do anything because quite frankly, Pharaoh Atem Sennen of Egypt just became a father," Mai said as she left the throne room

Yami was wide-eyed while Atem merely fainted which made yugi look at the unconscious royal. Shimon stared at his grandson and one snap of his fingers got him up quickly since Atem knew that meant a pot of water dumped on his head.

"Well that takes care of you getting married," Shimon said with a smile

"Grandfather, not in front of him please," Atem said as he stood from the floor as he pinched the bridge of his nose

"What I'm a great-grandfather father now, I deserve to enjoy this" Shimon said as he chuckled at his blushing grandson

Yami was still blushing madly and hid his face behind his long blonde bangs while yugi continued calling Atem his father.

"Now once the Emperor of Japan arrives we need to arrange a wedding" Shimon states plainly which shocked everyone in the throne room

"What!" Yami and Atem practically yelled in shock

"Marriage?" Yami said in slight surprise and shock

"Grandfather I don't really think that's necessary, the boy might grow out of calling me his father," Atem said hoping it would change his mind

"Well unless you can bring back the dead, then you have to go with it," Jono said as he glared at Atem for not taking responsibility

"I should go now, I need to get my son ready for his nap," Yami said softly as the pressure began to overwhelm him

Atem watch Yami go back to his chambers for the day while his friends followed suit and now he was stuck in marrying someone he didn't know but fate had something in store for them.


	10. The Emperor of Japan

A month has passed since the incident, the assassin received the death penalty for trying to kill Yugi and Yami. Atem was currently preparing for the Emperor's visit and Yami completely avoiding him was not helping their current situation and so here he was, in front of Yami's chambers ready to face him but now was having second thoughts about doing so.

"I can do this" Atem muttered as he knocked on Yami's door

Yami was currently getting Yugi ready for a bath as the young Neko decided to spill a bottle of oil on himself when he heard a knock on his door.

"Who could that be?" Yami questioned as he looked at Yugi but the smell began to get to him "I'll deal with you later" Yami said as he covered his nose

He opened the door only to face Atem and sighed knowing there was no way to avoid him now. He let Atem in and the atmosphere became awkward when the two were now together in the same room.

"I know that this whole thing is..." Atem began but couldn't continue

"A mess?" Yami answered for him as he scrunched up his nose at Yugi's new odor

"I guess you can call it that" Atem admitted as he saw Yami turning a little pale "Yami are you alright?" Atem asked in concern

"The smell...it's too strong," Yami said as he fainted

Atem caught him before he could hit the floor, he was confused as he only smelled ginger and lavender. The smell wasn't as strong to him but he realized that Yami was a cat and had more heightened senses. He carried Yami outside and placed him on the chair out on the balcony to get some fresh air.

"Now to get rid of that smell," Atem said as he tried to find the source of the odor

Atem looked everywhere when yugi suddenly got his attention by throwing a toy ball at his head. Atem glared at Yugi and realized the smell came from the young neko.

"Well I guess that you need a bath," Atem said as he picked up Yugi and took him to the bathing chambers

Atem placed yugi in a tub full of warm water and began to scrub the oil off of him, Atem chuckled as yugi began splashing the water on himself instead of Atem.

"Nice try" Atem stated with a smirk as yugi narrowed his eyes at him

Once yugi's bath was finished, Atem placed a towel around the young Neko and walked back into the bedroom to see Yami putting the crib outside on the balcony.

"Now I believe I need an explanation on how yugi got bathing oil on himself," Atem said as he laughed at Yami's annoyed expression

"He must've got it when I wasn't looking, but when I did he had a purple bottle and began to pour it all over himself," Yami said as he scowled

"Well yugi is now clean from any oil substances," Atem said as yugi giggled and clapped his hands

Yami smiled at him which made Atem blush lightly but he quickly regained his composure when Yami took yugi from him.

"Thank you for helping me, again," Yami said softly

Atem smiled at him which made Yami blush lightly as well which thankfully, Atem didn't see. Soon it became awkward again and Yami began to change yugi into more suitable clothing. Yugi wore golden bands on his arms and legs as he wore a white tunic with a gold belt tied around his waist.

"I know you want to speak about...our situation," Yami said as he looked at Atem with yugi now resting in his arms

"I know that we, suddenly engaged to each other, is not helping you or me," Atem said as Yami slowly nodded

"Buts it's not up to us, it's up to the Emperor," Yami said as Atem was about to reply but a guard came in to report that the emperor has arrived in Egypt

"We'll be there shortly" Atem stated as the guard bowed then left the room

"I guess we should get going" Yami said shyly as he left the room with Atem

They both walked until they were in the throne room where the Emperor of Japan was waiting beside the priests and his daughter. He stared at Yami and yugi then at the other three neko's that left Japan.

"We have much to discuss," the Emperor said as he sat next to his daughter

"Of course," Atem said as he left Yami's side and went to sit on his throne

Yami held yugi close to his arms as he stood next to his friends. They all looked worried until two familiar voices were heard which made the neko's look at each other in confusion then looking at the closed doors.

"Run Serenity!, Run!" An older Neko said as barking was heard near the throne doors

Soon Yami saw his grandfather along with Jono's sister run into the throne room while being chased by a dog. The dog barked playfully and when he caught sight of the others neko's he smiled more as more dogs came running into the throne room.

"Oh no," Jono said as he looked at the five dogs in the throne room

"RUN!" Malik yelled as all the neko's scattered around the throne room with a dog each going after them

Everyone else in the throne room tried to get the dogs under control but they were to fast and soon the neko's ran out the throne room to who knows where with the dogs following.

"Who...let...the dogs...in the...palace," Atem said as he tried to catch his breath

"My fault, Pharaoh," said Marik as he walked into the now messy throne room "those are the new guard dogs in training" Marik stated as he held five ripped leashes

"Great, now we have to find them before they get lost" Seth stated as he fixed his clothes

"It won't be that hard, they'll look for the closet thing to climb on" Mai informed as she examined her nails

"And that would be?" Seth said with a glare

"Where's the garden," Mai said with a smirk

Soon everyone in the throne room ran towards the royal gardens and found six Neko's high up on the trees with dogs barking at the bottom.

"For Ra's sake" Atem muttered as he saw Yami holding yugi close to him as yugi only laughed

"Get them away!" Malik snapped once he saw the royals, the priests, and Marik

Marik smirked and used his hands to whistle a command which the dogs quickly obeyed. But they ran over Marik and ran somewhere else while their trainer groaned in pain.

"Wow...our hero," Malik said sarcastically as he crossed his arms

"New dogs, they don't know things around here yet," Marik said as he got off the ground

Soon the sound of barking was heard and the dogs were back barking up the tree. Yami then realized his grandfather Solomon and Jono's little sister, Serenity, was there with them in Egypt causing him to look at the two in surprise.

"We'll talk later," Jonouchi said as he pointed a finger at his sister

"I'm so grounded am I?" Serenity questioned as Jonouchi gave her a look "I'm taking that as a yes" Serenity said as she laughed nervously

"Don't worry we'll get the dogs out of here as soon as we get new ropes to tie them up with" Atem called out

Yami was about to respond until the branch he was sitting on began to break. He quickly noticed this and gave yugi to his grandfather until he could move to a more safer spot.

"Atem, this branch is about to-" Yami didn't get to finish as the branch broke and he fell

Atem quickly ran and caught Yami before he hit the ground, Yami had his eyes closed but he never felt the ground only strong arms holding him. He opened them to see Atem looking at Yami with concern and he was about to say something before a dog ran between Atem's legs which made them both fall, with Atem on top of Yami.

"Ow" Atem muttered as he used his arms push him upright and once he opened his eyes he saw Yami beneath him blushing madly

"Can you..." Yami stated as Atem quickly knew the question

"Oh...of course, sorry," Atem said as he got off Yami and helped him up both blushing brightly

The emperor observed this and once he saw the markings on their arms he raised his brow at the marks that were upon them. Soon the smell of fresh meat caught the dog's attention as they now ran towards the kitchen.

"Great" Marik mumbled as he ran a hand down his face

Malik jumped off the tree and did a flip before landing gracefully on the ground. He glared at Marik as his tail flicked in agitation. "Thank you for letting those...those..." Malik began as he couldn't bring himself to say the word 'dog'

"Dogs," Marik said as he too crossed his arms

"Yes!, those things! they relate to the god of death and they are a bad omen in my village!" Malik stated as he flung his hands in the air

Marik was about to retort when he finally saw a closer look at Malik, his eyes widened a little as did Malik's.

"You!" Marik&Malik said at the same time

But once they looked at each other everyone saw the hint of pink tint their eyes before it disappeared as if nothing happened.

"Enough!...explanations, Now!" The emperor yelled out as he went back inside the palace

Everyone looked at each other and listened right after they got Yami's Grandfather out the tree as he still held yugi. Of course, Yami just used his magic which shocked the priests but they didn't pay any attention as yugi began to cling onto his grandfather.

"Let's go," Atem said as he led the way back into the throne room

The emperor stood next to his daughter as he kept a straight posture along with Mai. They both saw the rest of them as they walked into the throne room as everything went back to as it was before the dogs came running in.

"Now, the situation at hand," The emperor said sternly as the nekos flattened their ears in worry, "my daughter tells me You four left Japan to rescue a child, am I correct" he stated as he looked at the nekos

"Yes" Yami answered as he stared at the man before him

"My daughter also reported the boy has claimed the Pharaoh as his father," he said as he raised his brow

"Yes," Yami said again as he glanced at Atem

"Prove it," The emperor said sternly

Yami shook yugi awake, and once the young Neko awoke. Yugi looked at everyone but he brightened when he saw Atem. "Dada!" Yugi said happily as he stretched his arms out for Atem to hold him

The nekos looked at their king as did Mai before he smiled along with Mai as her plan worked perfectly. "I believe you have a wedding to prepare," the emperor said with a smile

Solomon's eyes widened as he stared at Yami in shock, as he tried to make sense of the situation. Yami had no words as he was also in shock along with Atem as the two stared at one another before looking away.

"But we barely know each other" Atem stated as looked at the emperor

"I have set a time limit, you both will be wed by the next year...you both will have plenty of time" The emperor stated as he went back to his room to rest for his trip back home

Atem and Yami looked at each other before yugi screamed 'Dada' once again which made them both blush madly. Isis smiled at the soon to be couple as Mahad placed his hand around hers. "We have a long year" Mahad whispered as he looked at the engaged couple

"Well it will be an adventure that we can handle," Isis said as everyone left back to their rooms to rest

Meanwhile, Yami was walking with Atem as Yugi slept in the pharaoh's arms. They both took glances at each other until they arrived at their rooms, the awkward silence finally getting to them.

"Goodnight Atem" Yami said shyly as he took yugi from his arms

"Goodnight Yami" Atem said as Yami smiled at him before disappearing into his room

Atem sighed and ran his hand through his hair before going to his room. He changed into his nightclothes and went to bed thinking of his upcoming wedding in a year, and unknown to him Yami was thinking the same thing.


	11. Beginning of a Friendship

Yami awoke to the suns rays and stretched his muscles as he sat up from the bed. He saw yugi sleeping peacefully in his crib as he sucked his thumb. Yami got up from the bed and began to get dressed for the day, he wore the same outfit from the trial and dressed yugi once he was awake. He was about to leave when servants burst into his room with a very annoyed Pharaoh following.

"What's going on?" Yami asked Atem as he saw the servants clean his room

"Ever since we got engaged, and according to law...servants have to tend to you until you get your own personal servant when we are married," Atem said as he chuckled nervously

"I don't like the idea of bossing someone around," Yami said quietly so the servants wouldn't hear

"Well you will get used to it," Atem said as he saw a servant give yugi to Atem and drag Yami away "eventually," Atem said so Yami could hear

Atem was soon pushed out of the room with yugi while Yami was busy taking a bath and getting dressed appropriately for those engaged to royalty. After an hour of waiting, Yami came out wearing a sky blue silk sleeve dress with Japan's native flowers decorating the bottom. The entire dress was made for the weather of Egypt for it looked exactly like the dress Yami wore earlier. Atem stared at Yami for who knows how long before Yami was waving his hand in front of his face.

"Atem?" Yami said one more time as he snapped his fingers in front of Atem's face

Atem snapped out of his daze and chuckled nervously as he saw Yami's confused stare which came along with a glare.

"You didn't say that they would bathe me" Yami stated as he took yugi from Atem

"Sorry, I forgot to mention that," Atem said with a small smile

"I didn't like how they kept staring at me, and before they could touch me I had to send them out...I don't like strangers touching me" Yami stated with a glare towards Atem

Atem merely laughed as Yami rolled his eyes, they both had the entire morning together before Atem had to attend afternoon meetings. They had breakfast in the gardens and watched yugi play with butterflies as they enjoyed the quiet morning.

"Dada!" Yugi said in excitement as he showed Atem another butterfly on his hand

"Another one? how are you so good at attracting butterflies?" Atem asked playfully as yugi laughed and played some more

"He always found butterflies more enjoyable, although he nearly caused me to get a heart attack when he tried to fly like one when he was eight months old," Yami said as he and Atem laughed at the memory

Atem saw yugi play with the butterflies before he started to stare at Yami. Everything about Yami's motherly nature reminded him of his own mother. His smile, loving eyes, his laugh, and of course his smart remarks. Yami caught his gaze and blushed lightly. "Why are you always staring at me?" Yami said softly

"I don't know, I'll answer your question when I do find out," Atem said with his own smile

Yami and Atem began to talk about small trivial things when they heard yugi trying to talk. Yami smiled at his son as yugi only babbled words. "Mmmm...ma...maaaa...ma...ma" Yugi babbled But couldn't say the word he desired

"I wonder what's he trying to say," Atem asked as he smiled at the baby Neko

"Well he tends to get fussy when he doesn't get things the first time" Yami warned as he saw yugi narrow his eyes in frustration

"Mama!" Yugi yelled angrily as he didn't realize he said his desired word

Yami and Atem laughed at yugi's frustrated state as he kept saying 'mama' over and over again before he realized what he said and began to laugh merely. "Mama!" Yugi said happily as he pointed at Yami "Dada!" Yugi happily said as he pointed to Atem

Yami and Atem smiled as their cheeks held a red tint. They both looked at each other and chuckled before Seth came to tell Atem of the council meeting. "I'll see you later, Yami," Atem said with a smile as he left with Seth towards the throne room

"Come on little one," Yami said as he picked up yugi from the ground "let's go find your grandfather," Yami said in a motherly tone as he walked back into the palace

Yami would often spend his afternoons in his room when Yugi was asleep. Now that his grandfather was here, he had plenty of time to talk and today was something Yami was hoping would come later.

'I can do this' Yami thought as he heard a knock on his door

Yami opened the door to see his grandfather and he was relieved to find his grandson alive and well. Yami let him in and the two sat down and stared at each other before Solomon spoke.

"I'm glad your safe" Solomon said happily as Yami smiled at him

"And I'm glad that your here," Yami said with a smile

The two talked for hours before yugi woke up and now Solomon was currently teaching yugi a few puzzle games that Atem had brought for Yami to relieve his boredom. Yugi learned how to solve it quickly which surprised Yami greatly.

"Look at that...he has the Muto gene in him," Solomon said with a laugh as yugi solved another more difficult puzzle

"He is so much like his father," Yami said softly as he looked at yugi with a slight sad gleam in his eye

"I know my boy, but he wouldn't want you to live in the past" Solomon stated as he watched Yugi solve another puzzle

Yami and Solomon spent their afternoon together before it became dark and yugi was resting peacefully. Yami was in the middle of getting dressed when Atem accidentally walked in on him taking off his clothes. Yami spun around quickly and held his clothes together before they fell to the floor.

"I understand that we are engaged but I don't think that you can just do as you please" Yami growled as he glared at atem

"Sorry, guess I must be more tired than I thought," Atem said as he rubbed his eyes as Yami sighed

"Just...just don't let it happen again" Yami stated as Atem merely nodded in understanding

"Don't worry, I must remember my room is on the left of yours," Atem said as he went to leave the room

"Goodnight Atem" Yami said softly which made Atem look at him

"Goodnight Yami" Atem said with a smile as he left

Yami breathed out in relief as he felt his face heat up for no apparent reason, he got dressed into his nightclothes which was a beige long sleeve button shirt with pants that made Yami step on them when he walked. Yami checked on yugi one last time before he fell asleep and dreamed for the first time.


	12. What we Build is up to Us

Sunlight was the first thing Yugi noticed when he opened his eyes and began to babble happily but to his dismay, his mother didn't hear him as he was still fast asleep. Yugi looked in his crib and found the pillow soft and firm, he smiled brightly as an idea formed in his head. He grabbed his pillow and threw it outside the crib before he climbed over the railing. Unknown to him Atem woke up to yugi's babbling and went to see if Yami was awake with the little neko.

"Yugi is surely an early riser," Atem said as he barely saw Ra's light cover the kingdom

Atem got out of bed and put on his blue robe with golden patterns weaved into the clothing. He walked into Yami's room and sleep immediately left his eyes when he saw yugi climbing out of his crib. On instinct, he ran towards the crib but yugi let go thinking the pillow was below him. Atem slid and caught yugi as his breath was knocked out of him when yugi landed on his stomach.

"Dada?" Yugi babbled in confusion as he saw Atem instead of the pillow

"Now I know why you give your mother close heart attacks" Atem groaned as he sat up with a wince while holding yugi close

Yami awoke a few minutes after and saw Atem and Yugi on the floor. He stared at them in confusion before he noticed yugi's pillow on the floor as well. He looked at Atem for an explanation but it seemed Atem didn't know he was awake.

"Why are you two on the floor?" Yami asked as he sat up and stretched his limbs

"Yugi decided to climb out his crib," Atem said as yugi began to pull his blonde bangs

"That explains why Yugi is on the floor but why are you on the floor?" Yami said as he got out of bed and walked over to them

"He miscalculated where he threw his pillow," Atem said as he merely pointed at the pillow near the bed

Yami's right ear twitched and his tail merely wrapped around his ankle or merely swayed lazily behind. He giggled at the two and took yugi from Atem's arms before helping Atem off the floor.

"Thank you for catching him...and yugi normally gets up whenever the sun begins to rise," Yami said as he saw Atem nearly falling asleep

"I should be getting used to this but I'm a king that loves his sleep" Atem joked as Yami laughed

Atem somehow loved the way Yami would laugh and his smile seemed to ease all of his worries. The way his eyes would sparkle like the stars or how his voice sounded, it wasn't deep but more like milk and honey he truly sounded magnificent.

"You're staring again" Yami pointed out as he hid his red face in yugi's hair

Atem still didn't know his feelings about Yami yet but somehow whenever he's with Yami, he can't seem to get enough of him. He would greatly give up all of Egypt if it meant staying with Yami along with the hope he would agree of him to be yugi's father.

"I seem to be getting lost..." Atem said softly as he stared straight into Yami's amethyst eyes

Neither knew what they were doing but once they were close enough for their lips to touch. Yugi took his chance to receive two kisses on both his cheeks when Yami and Atem nearly kissed. Yami opened his eyes and smile in amusement while Atem merely chuckled at yugi's playfulness.

"Well we should get dressed before our grandfathers come and get us," Atem said as his face has a nice shade of red

"R-right...umm...can you?" Yami said as his face had begun to redden but this time Atem saw and quickly realized the problem

"Oh...I'll give you two some privacy" Atem said as he quickly left the room in order for himself to get dressed as well

Yami merely giggled but he still had his red face. He dressed yugi in his normal clothes as a future Egyptian prince while he wore a short blue dress that reached up to his knees with gold intricate patterns around it. He also wore brown sandals, Yami looked at the crimson patterns over his snow-white skin and smiled softly as yugi merely touched the patterns in curiosity.

"Yami are you decent?" Atem said behind his door

"Yes" Yami called out to Atem as he made his way out his room

"Shall we go eat?" Atem asked as he and Yami along with yugi walked down the palace halls

"We shall," Yami said as he held in a laugh when he saw how Atem dressed this morning "although I don't remember you wearing your nightclothes for the day" Yami giggled

Atem looked at him then looked at himself, realizing he was in his nightclothes he quickly ran back to his room to dress properly before coming back to Yami. His star-shaped hair was out of place but at least he was decent enough.

"Now we can go eat," Atem said with an embarrassed smile

Yami gave yugi to Atem for him to intertwine their hands together. Atem and Yami both blushed at the sudden contact but they didn't mind and yugi was to busy staring at his reflection in Atem's crown. Once they reached the dining hall did they notice Yami's friends and grandfather along with Atem's family and council.

"I see you two are getting along fine...and it's only been a few days," Shimon said as he and Solomon smiled which made the soon to be married couple suspicious of them

"What are you two up to?" Atem questioned both of them as yugi squirmed in his arms before trying to walk over to his grandfather

Yugi was a bit wobbly and began to get afraid if he fell so he stayed close to Atem and began to cry. Yami smiled softly and quickly scooped up the small Neko and began to whisper soothing words for him to calm down.

"I remember when my boy was impatient to see the world...although he got too scared to even leave the house when he discovered lightning when he was five," Solomon said with a laugh as Yami blushed with embarrassment

"Lightning?" Atem mused as Yami glared at him

"Really?, Atem was like that as well when he was younger he once tried to-" Shimon was cut off by Atem

"I don't think they would want to hear that story Grandfather," Atem said nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck

"No, let him finish...I'm _very_ curious what Atem did" Yami smirked as Atem glared at him

"He once tried to make tomorrow come by 'moving the moon' with his mind," Shimon said as he and Solomon both burst out laughing

Atem was blushing furiously with embarrassment and he could hear Yami giggle softly as the council choked on a few laughs but the neko's just laughed until tears appeared in their eyes. Once the laughing completely stopped yugi's burp is what caught everyone's attention. He was sitting on the table with a red bowl on his head as he ate peaches. Yami looked at his arms and then at yugi before becoming a confused kitten.

"I remember when Yami used to do that, gave me a heart attack when I found him on the ceiling of my house" Solomon chuckled as yugi merely smiled at them as he was now dirty and covered in peach nectar

"And it's best not to ask how a Neko can disappear...we don't know either" Jonouchi said as he realized yugi was gone again "where'd he go?" Jono asked as he looked under the table as his ears flicked from side to side

Yami heard yugi's giggle and nearly fainted when he saw yugi on top of the tree. Atem managed to steady him and realized yugi was a tricky one to deal with.

"We are going to need rope...and a lot of peaches," Malik said as he stared at his nails

"What's the rope for Malik?, peaches I understand because their yugi's favorite but rope?" Ryou questioned as everyone stared at Malik

"The rope is for the dogs that managed to escape from Marik and now they are coming in three...two...one," Malik said as he pointed at the doors before they burst open

The dogs ran around the dining room before they noticed the nekos. They all tensed and it was then Atem realized he needed to have the dogs trained elsewhere.

"OLD NEKOS FIRST!" Solomon said as he ran with the others trailing behind him

Atem looked to his side and saw Yami gone, he looked around before he looked at the tree yugi was in. He chuckled and Yami merely glared before throwing a date at him.

"Don't worry I'm on it," Marik said as he finally caught his breath "Wow...I feel like I might need nine lives for this" Marik said before Yami threw a date him

"We don't have nine lives...honestly who told you these ridiculous rumors," Yami said sternly as they all pointed at Marik

"Real mature Pharaoh" Marik said as he saw Atem pointing at him childishly


	13. Unsure Emotions

After the whole dog fiasco, it's been four months since Yami and Atem have been engaged. And only six months since Yami first came to Egypt along with his friends. Now they only had six more months before everyone in the palace starts planning the wedding. Yami didn't want to think about it but he couldn't help but start to fall for the Pharaoh of Egypt.

His heart was torn as he still grieved over his late husband as the reality of the situation sank in, 'Oh, yugioh...what should I do?' Yami said as he was on his bed staring at the early wedding gift from the Emperor himself had sent to him two weeks prior

Yami refused to open it, but he couldn't help but let his curiosity overwhelm him, he opened the box and found a white and golden laced Japanese wedding Egyptian styled dress. The dress had golden patterns of cherry blossoms which reminded Yami of home along with the dark shimmering patterns of desert roses that littered the dress beautifully. And the dress was made from the softest silk in Japan. The memory of him turning four shades of red was still in his mind for the Emperor was telling him of the time he had left before the wedding.

'I'm falling for him and I'm completely torn on what to do' Yami thought miserably

Yami had nothing to do for yugi was with his grandfather and Atem was too busy to spend time with him today. So Yami let the land of dreams take him away until Yugi comes back with his grandfather.

* * *

In the Dream World...

* * *

Yami opened his eyes and found himself in place that was completely white, no one was here but himself. Panic began to build up inside him and the fear of not seeing yugi again began to overwhelm him.

"It's alright beloved, there is nothing to fear," a familiar voice said shocking Yami to the core

Tears pricked at the corner of Yami's eyes as he didn't dare look behind him for fear of being delusional. "Yami, it's okay to turn around...this is really me," the voice said softly

Yami turned around slowly and when his eyes connected to purple orbs did his tears flow down his face. He never forgot him and the fact that he is seeing him again made his heartbreak painfully for he knew this couldn't be real.

"Yami this is real...but it's only in your dreams that I may-" he was cut off by Yami suddenly hugging and sobbing in his chest

Familiar strong pale arms wrapped around Yami and hugged him close as he cried. They stayed in each other's embrace for a long time neither wanting to let go but they knew they had to. He was the first to let go which made Yami stare into his eyes a little more.

"Yugioh" Yami said as his voice betrayed the sadness that lingered

"I always did say that sadness doesn't go well with your eyes," Yugioh said softly his own smile gracing his soft but sharp features

"Yes...you always did say that," Yami said as he wiped away his tears

"How is he?" Yugioh asked wanting to know the wellbeing of his son

"Our son looks exactly like me but he has some of your features as well, grandfather insisted we name him after you but I decided to call him Yugi instead of your full name," Yami said as he saw his late lover smile

"Solomon always did like my name" Yugioh joked as Yami playfully hit his arm "but that's not what's troubling you, come on out with it," Yugioh said a bit sternly but soft enough for Yami to feel safe and protected

"The Emperor engaged me to the Pharaoh of Egypt...because he believes he is my true mate," Yami said sadly as he showed the crimson markings on his right arm

Yugioh was quiet before he smiled softly, knowing Yami would feel this way made his heartbreak but knowing Yami had someone to protect him as he now lives in the spirit realm, made his purple eyes show relief.

"Yami, I am not mad...I can tell you are falling for him" Yugioh stated with a soft small while Yami looked away with uncertainty

Yugioh used his hand to cup Yami's face to gently turn his face towards his. Tears ran down from rose-amethyst eyes. Yugioh only smiled and gave Yami a kiss to his forehead. "You need someone to love and protect you Yami, I can no longer do that if I'm already in the spirit realm," Yugioh said as his amethyst tail swayed lazily behind him as amethyst ears twitched from time to time

Yami looked at him before he hugged him again for a final time. The two late lovers stared at each other before Yami began to fade.

"You are waking up, I brought you here to let you know that I am proud of you, Beloved" Yugioh said for a final time

* * *

Yami woke up to see Atem and the entire council looking at him in concern, he sat up while he heard Yugi's giggles and babbles. Yami saw Malik, Ryou, and Jonouchi looking at him in worry and relief in their eyes. "What is everyone doing in my room?" Yami questioned as he took Yugi from Atem's arms

"There was a strange light coming off of your body...it worried us to an extent that we thought you were being cursed" Atem explained

"Light? Have any of you got enough sleep?" Yami asked as he looked at the exasperated priests

The council looked bewildered and bid their goodbyes to leave Yami's room to either take a nap or convince themselves it was an illusion. Yami noticed Atem look at him in worry, he motioned for Malik to take Jonouchi and Ryou out of the room for him to talk with Atem alone.

"Come on," Malik said as he grabbed his friend's arms "I have this cool new trick to show you two," Malik said with a mischievous smile

"I'm not helping with broken bones," Jono said as he narrowed his eyes at the younger Neko

Soon the three Neko's were out of Yami's room, everything was quiet for a few moments before Atem broke the silence. "Yami, is there something you need to tell me?" Atem asked as he looked at Yami

"Atem...how do you feel towards me?" Yami asked not meeting Atem's gaze

"What?" Atem asked not knowing where this was going

"How do you feel towards me" Yami repeated again as he looked into Atem's crimson eyes

Atem was a bit startled for the boldness of Yami's question. He admitted to himself long ago that he fell in love with Yami the moment he met him but he wasn't certain if it was actual love. During the six months, he had spent with Yami he realized he began to fall for him even more and that it was true love he felt for the neko.

"This was stupid" Yami sighed as he began to walk out of his room

Atem reacted quickly and grabbed Yami's arm before he could leave at all. Yami looked at him in confusion and in slight fear. "You asked how I felt about you...here is my answer, I fell in love with you the moment I first saw you. I didn't know it was love back then and I still don't know if it's true love or not but I'm certain that I do feel that you mean more to me than being my friend" Atem said as he stared at Yami's eyes

Yugi was currently looking at his mother in curiosity. He didn't know what was going on and soon enough his eyes began to get heavy. Yugi soon entered the dreamland with a smile as Yami and Atem still stared at each other.

"Yami...what do you feel towards me?" Atem questioned carefully if there was a rejection coming off the young Neko

"Someone told me it was okay to let go, and it was okay to move on. I know that I'm falling for you but it will take time for my heart to heal since my heart was broken before...I lost him and I can't afford to lose you-" Yami was cut off by sudden tanned soft lips on his own

Tanned arms wrapped around Yami's waist to pull Yami closer to the tanned and muscular body that was the Pharaoh. Yami closed his eyes and began to kiss back as both were aware of the child being held in Yami's arms. Their kiss ended and both were breathless and a bit dazed but they still remained aware of their actions.

"Yami, I know that you have lost so much back in Japan. Now I'm hoping you can't start anew with me in Egypt if you accept me being your consort" Atem said as he placed his forehead on Yami's

Yami's thoughts swirled around in his head but Yugioh was right. It wasn't fair to him nor Atem if Yami held onto the past and feared the future of what might happen instead of living in the present. Yami smiled and nodded, making Atem smile brightly before kissing him again a bit more passionately than their last.


	14. Trouble Brought Us To Love

News got out that Yami has accepted Atem's offer of being his consort. The emperor of Japan came back with his daughter to see how their relationship was doing. Of course, the new couple was surprised that the Emperor was going to stay until the wedding which was only two months away. Lords, Kings, Ladies, and Queens gave Yami and Atem many wedding gifts and some for Yugi.

"Atem, I don't want our son to be spoiled," Yami said to Atem one night when Yami placed Yugi in his crib

"Don't worry, he seems to not care for the gifts as much," Atem said as he looked at the sleeping baby Neko

"I know my son if he doesn't like something he'll either break it or throw it somewhere I can't find it," Yami said as he crossed his arms

Atem smiled sheepishly as Yami rolled his eyes with a smile on his face. Atem went back to his room to sleep as Yami got himself ready for bed. Unknown to everyone in the palace a certain Neko and Thief were secretly meeting each other every night.

"Akiefa?" Ryou called out softly as he walked around the palace gardens

"I'm here," Akiefa said from the shadows

Ryou looked around and soon he saw familiar grey eyes stare back at him. He smiled and walked toward the hidden figure that was the Thief King.

"You know it's dangerous for you to keep coming here," Ryou said quietly but with worry in his voice

"I can manage little dove, the Pharaoh can never catch me...he's tried for years," Akiefa said with a chuckle making Ryou laugh as well

"So long as you know what you are doing," Ryou remarked making Akiefa smile lightly

The two walked around the garden in the shadows of the night and hid from the patrol guards whenever it was necessary. They talked for hours on end until it was time for Akiefa to go.

"I'll be back tomorrow night but meet me in the hidden passageway in your room" Akiefa instructed

"I will," Ryou said softly

The moon's light reflected Ryou's appearance which made him look like an angel to Akiefa's eyes. Neither knew what was happening until their lips connected. Tanned hands wrapped around a slender waist and pulled the young Neko closer to his body. Snow white arms wrapped around Akiefa's neck to deepen the kiss. The need for air is what made the two break apart with smiles on their faces.

"Tomorrow," Ryou said as he looked at Akiefa

"Tomorrow" Akiefa did as he kissed Ryou's forehead

Before Ryou could blink the Thief King was gone. Ryou went back to his room and once he was there he closed the door and got ready for bed. Unknown to him he caught the eye of a Lord named Alikai Rahid. He tried to bed a certain blonde haired Neko but he fought back and a certain blue-eyed priest caught him in the act. Priest Seth was not happy in the least and neither was Jonouchi who kicked him in the worst of places.

 _ **~Two Nights Before~**_

 _Jonouchi was walking to his room and unknown to him he was being followed by a tall and very muscular figure. Jono's senses kept telling him of danger but whenever he turned around there was no one. He was uneasy and when he saw the door to his room he sighed in relief. But once he opened it he was pushed inside. Jono let out a scream of shock and began to fight the intruder._

 _"Let go of me!" Jonouchi yelled in anger as he struggled against the unknown enemy_

 _The intruder managed to pin Jono against the bed which led the young Neko to continue to struggle more out of fear. Luckily Priest Seth was walking to his room after a few hours of reading scrolls and spells. When he heard the commotion come from Jono's room._

 _'What in Ra's name is going on in there!?' Seth thought in annoyance_

 _Seth was going to leave until the sound of something breaking and a yelp of pain made him stop. He burst inside the room and he boiled in anger when he saw someone on top of Jonouchi. The intruder had slapped Jono so hard it caused a hand-shaped bruise to form on the neko's face. The glass of a broken vase was littered on the floor._

 _"GET OFF OF HIM!" Seth yelled in anger_

 _The intruder was startled and loosened his grip on Jono unintentionally. Jonouchi saw his chance and kicked the intruder off of him which cause him to hold his crotch in agony. Jono scrambled off the bed and went behind Seth for protection, The blonde hugged himself and shivered for he still felt the man touching him in such places on his body._

 _Before Seth could call for the guards, the intruder managed to escape without either one of them noticing._

 _ **~Present Time~**_

Lord Rahid was present when Priest Seth reported the crime to the Pharaoh. Jonouchi was with his fellow neko's when a certain white-haired Neko caught his full attention. And he was disappointed that he didn't get to have fun with the blonde spitfire but that wouldn't stop him from bedding the gentle Neko out of all of them.

Unknown to the Lord, Akiefa was watching him from the shadows and he decided to take matters into his own hands if the Lord wanted to hurt Ryou badly.

'He wants my little dove...too bad he'll be executed come tomorrow afternoon' Akiefa thought as he put his plan into motion

Ryou was fast asleep when Lord Rahid entered his room quietly in his disguise. He got closer to Ryou's bed but the sudden sound of a vase rolling off a desk caught his attention. Soon Ryou heard something break and immediately woke up, seeing the shadowed figure so close to him made him scream loudly. Startled the Lord began to make a run for it but guards who heard the commotion blocked his entrance.

'Drat!' Alikai thought as he stared at the guards

He stepped back but the guards grabbed him before he could come up with a plan. The Pharaoh soon entered the room with Yami trailing behind him with their child in his arms. Along with Malik, Solomon, and the entire royal council.

"Ryou!" Yami said in worry as he ran to his friend

"I'm fine, nothing happened luckily," Ryou said as he stared at the hidden figure in the now lit room

"Be lucky that I was with Marik when we heard you scream," Malik said as he crossed his arms

"What were you doing with Marik?" Yami asked with a confused look on his face

"Nothing," Malik said quickly which caused Solomon to shake his head in amusement

Yami looked at Atem and saw the cold expression on his face when he is around others. Atem ordered the guards to reveal the disguised man in the room. Marik removed the hood and everyone was shocked to see Lord Alikai Rahid.

"Take him to the dungeon until his trial tomorrow morning" Atem ordered

Marik did as he was ordered and it took three guards to keep Lord Rahid in his place for he struggled to get free. Once everyone made sure that Ryou was safe they left his room. Once Ryou's room door was closed he walked toward his lover and hugged him.

"Thank you," Ryou said in a shaky voice

"Don't worry little dove, as long as I'm here you'll be protected" Akiefa whispered lovingly as he placed a hand on Ryou's round belly that was well hidden

Soon lavender markings began to appear on Ryou's left arm and white markings began to appear on Akiefa's right arm. Akiefa, of course, was startled but once the light disappeared he noticed Ryou had the same patterns on his left arm.

"What happened?" Akiefa said as he touched his right arm

"They only appear when true love is returned to the other but they don't appear if their love isn't strong even if it's your true mate" Ryou informed as he stared at Akiefa

"Then I'm honored to be yours Ryou," Akiefa said lovingly as he kissedRyou'ss forehead

He stayed with Ryou until he fell asleep again and stayed for a few more hours until he had to leave. Everyone slept peacefully except for a blonde Neko who stayed awake near the window of his room. He didn't sleep on his bed anymore for it reminded him of what could've happened. He soon heard a knock on his door and was hesitant to even open it for the person.

"It's me," said a familiar voice

"Come in," Jonouchi said but stayed in his place as the door opened

"I came to tell you that we caught the man that attacked you," Seth said as he stood near the door

"That's good," Jono said as he stared out the window

Seth walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder which made Jono flinch. Seth noticed and took his hand off his shoulder and saw that he still had bruises on his wrists, neck, and cheek. He sighed and sat on the other end of the bench. He noticed Jonouchi was wearing a cotton cream long sleeve bed shirt with matching pants. And Seth was still dressed in his normal attire as a Priest of the royal council.

"Have you been sleeping?" Seth asked as he stared at the young Neko

"Not as much as I want to" Jono responded solemnly

"You can't let what happened get to you...it will affect you and your family gravely," Seth said sternly

"I know...I know" Jono said as he pulled his knees up to his chest and his face between them

Seth didn't know why he was here, all he wanted to do was tell the Neko that his attacker was caught. But seeing the Neko be so _**vulnerable**_ didn't sit right with him at all.

"Jono look at me," Seth said softly but in a commanding tone

Slowly Jonouchi looked at Seth and found ice blue eyes stare right at him. Hesitantly Seth took Jonouchi's hand and neither noticed the new markings appearing on their arms. Blue markings were on Jono's right arm and Red on Seth's left arm. Jonouchi slowly started to trust Seth and sat next to him. His ears twitching time to time and his tail swayed lazily as the two sat next to each other in comfortable silence. After a few minutes, Jono fell asleep on Seth's shoulder. The young priest didn't mind for he too was already falling asleep.

The two fell asleep on the bench like bed with the moon being the only light source for the dark room. When sunlight hit both their faces they woke up to see the other becoming very flustered. Jonouchi was laying on top of Seth's chest while Seth had his arms wrapped around a slightly slender waist.

"Can you...can you let go of me...please?" Jono said with fear lighting his eyes

Seth nodded and sat up with Joey getting off of him. Jono was still flustered while Seth was scolding himself for sleeping in another room. The two stole glances from the other and when they made eye contact they quickly looked away.

"I should get going," Seth said awkwardly as he stood up

Jonouchi merely nodded and watched Seth leave the room. The young Neko began to get dressed for the day after a nice warm bath to calm his nerves. He left his room to meet with his friends and family for breakfast.

'Seth is right...I can't let what happened get to me' Jonouchi thought with determination

Even though it will take time to get over the fact that he was almost forced upon by someone else. Jono began to act like his normal self with a few times of flinching whenever someone tried to touch him. At times Seth would smile to see Jono acting like himself again but knew that he would have to speak against the accused in a few hours.


	15. Big Trouble, Surprising News

The time of the trial was drawing near and Akiefa was there to enjoy the punishment that Lord Rahid was going to receive. Atem, on the other hand, was trying to get Yugi to hold still while Yami slept some more.

"Yugi, I need you to hold still for me," Atem said as he tried to bathe Yugi

Yugi kept squirming and splashing water on Atem a few times. Atem glared at Yugi and was going to scold him before a giggle caught his attention. The Pharaoh looked behind him to see Yami near the bathing chamber doors with his nightclothes still on.

"Is Yugi giving you trouble?" Yami asked with a chuckle as he went beside Atem

"It's like he knows what to do to prolong his fun," Atem said as he glared at Yugi

"He's just a baby who is very talented in games and trickery," Yami said before he looked at Atem "maybe he does know what he is doing," Yami said with a laugh

Atem couldn't help but laugh himself but the two stopped when Yugi splashed them with water. The two looked at Yugi in surprise, even though he was the one taking a bath, he was still dirty.

"You go and get dressed, I'll handle yugi," Yami said to his lover

"Alright," Atem said as he kissed Yami on the cheek and left

Yami blushed lightly and went back to his task on bathing Yugi. After an hour Yugi was finally clean and Yami was completely wet. Atem entered the room in confusion when Yami didn't show up for breakfast and laughed a little when he saw Yami's appearance.

"It's not funny, he became really fussy right after you left," Yami said angrily

"He must like our usual battles with water," Atem said as he took Yugi from Yami's arms

"Dada," Yugi said happily

Yami left to go get dressed and Atem failed to notice the smirk that showed on Yugi's face. Yugi soon began to mess with Atem's crown and hair.

"Yugi no, we have a very important day ahead of us," Atem scolded

Yugi stopped his actions in surprise, no one ever got mad at him, not even his mother. Soon tears weld up in his eyes and began to cry. Atem was shocked and Yami came out of the bathing chambers, dressed in proper clothes when he heard Yugi cry.

"I'm guessing you did something that he didn't like," Yami answered as he took Yugi from Atem's arms

"All I did was scold him, he has to learn that some of his actions have consequences," Atem stated with a stern look and his arms crossed

"No one has ever gotten mad at yugi...not even me," Yami admitted with a faint blush

Yugi sniffles were still heard and he didn't look at Atem for fear he might get angry again. Atem sighed and decided to take back Yugi in his arms and rock him to sleep. Yugi seemed to like the way Atem bounced him in his arms and two minutes later he was fast asleep. Yami smiled at Atem and they both left Yami's room to meet everyone in the throne room. Once they arrived they saw everyone there waiting for the Pharaoh to begin the trial.

"Bring the prisoner, with any force necessary," Atem said to one of the palace guards

"Yes my Pharaoh," the guard said as he left along with another guard to get the prisoner

Atem took his seat on the throne while Yami stood beside him with Yugi near him in a crib that was prepared by a servant girl. Yami looked over at his blonde friend and saw the faraway look in his eyes. He never saw him so scared, and seeing his attacker again could probably put him in a traumatic state which isn't good for nekos.

"We brought the prisoner as you requested my Pharaoh," the guard from earlier said as he pushed Lord Rahid in the middle of the throne room

Atem stared at the prisoner with cold eyes while the man merely smirked. His eyes told everyone in the room that he has done his deeds before and no justice has ever been served for those who were hurt.

"You are here charged with the initial intent to forcefully bed someone and according to others who stepped forward but shall not be named, claimed you have forcefully bed them as well," Seth read out loud from a scroll he held in his hands

"What is it my fault that they practically use their body to seduce me into their bedchambers," Alikai said as he stared at Jonouchi with a cruel smirk

Jonouchi froze which caught Seth's attention and with a single nod to his head. Marik hit the lord on the head with the butt of his sword which caused the man to hang his head down in agony.

"And according to those, they say that you forcefully entered their room when they were unaware," Atem spoke loudly with anger in his voice which caused the prisoner to realize his mistake

The lord coward in fear but he didn't want to lose this trial because of those servant girls and the creatures that charmed him in the first place. He looked at the creature that stood beside the Pharaoh and noticed how beautiful he was and suddenly an idea came to mind if he played right.

"Nothing to say," Atem said in a suspicious tone

"Just a few words," Alikai said with a cruel smile "NOW!" Rahid yelled

The sudden shout startled everyone but suddenly men with swords came into the throne room by using the secret passage ways. From the shadows, Akiefa didn't like the turn of events and decided to take his little dove before things got out of hand which they already did.

"What's the meaning of this!" Atem yelled as he used his sword to battle against his opponent

"It's called an escape Pharaoh," Alikai said as he walked through the commotion

Yami was hiding with Yugi cradled in his arms along with his grandfather and friends. Alikai wasn't going to leave until he got the amethyst eyed beauty he desired. Ryou spotted Akiefa and he motioned for him to follow. Ryou gave him a blank stare before Akiefa muttered a silent curse before he agreed Ryou can bring his friends.

"Come on...someone can get us out of here," Ryou said as he used his magic to make himself invisible

Everyone stared at the empty spot Ryou once stood but they shrugged their shoulders and used their magic to turn invisible as well. They met Akiefa and he didn't bother to say anything but he just closed the passage way and lead the way out of the tunnels.

"Thank you for saving us," Yami said as he held Yugi close to him

"No problem, and by the way Lord Mazaki won't be bothering you for a long time," Akiefa said which stopped Yami in his tracks as he stared at Akiefa in amazement

"Thank you," Yami muttered softly as he kissed Yugi's head

They all managed to get inside Yami's room and they were met with Alikai himself. He smirked and Yami could feel his gaze and covered Yugi from his line of vision.

"This is how it will go, I take the king's consort and everyone will live and if not everyone dies...simple really," Alikai said cruelly

Yami stared at the man before them with horror and disgust. He hoped Atem would come and save them all. But alas Atem wasn't here at the moment.

"I will never go with a pig like you!" Yami growled in anger as he kept Yugi hidden

Alikai's face turned into one of anger and went to attack Yami but a sword stopped him from even leaving a mark. Yami shielded Yugi from the attack that never came and he opened his eyes to see swords close to his face. Ryou took Yami's arm and they ran back into the hidden passageways.

"You know I never did like you...especially when you used to work for me," Akiefa said loudly when he saw the Pharaoh in the room

Atem stood in shock and in confusion when he saw Akiefa protect his fiancé and child from getting killed. And knowing that Alikai Rahid wasn't an actual lord made his job easier. The sword fight continued until Akiefa used his magic to disappear.

"Come and fight me you coward!" Rahid yelled as he stared at the empty spot Akiefa was

"Seize Him!" Atem ordered

Alikai turned around and was met with guards grabbing his shoulders and dragging him back to the dungeons. Atem ran into the passageway and it took many turns before he was back in his throne room and saw Yami cradling a crying baby Neko.

"Shh, little one...it's alright," Yami said as he was still a little shaken himself

"Yami," Atem breathed out in relief

Yami smiled and walked toward him before using one of his arms to yank Atem's tunic down and give a passionate kiss. Atem didn't mind but wrap his arms around a familiar slender waist. Giggles and Chuckles were heard when Yami and Atem broke apart with noticeable blushes on their faces.

"Now that all the fun is done, don't you have an execution to prepare," Akiefa said while leaning against a pillar

Akiefa laughed as he managed to surprise everyone except when he jumped when Ryou managed to surprise him by giggling right next to him. There was a couple of laughs and he managed to smile at Ryou.

"Guess you picked up a few tricks of my own," Akiefa said with a smirk

"Well as you said yourself use whatever you have to disappear," Ryou said as he made a Cheshire grin and disappeared

Akiefa barked out a laugh while everyone looked around them in confusion before they could say anything Ryou reappeared with Akiefa's sword.

"I believe you dropped this," Ryou said as he went back to his friends

Atem was in shock but he snapped out of it when he realized that his rival is in his palace. Before he could call the guards Akiefa managed to escape and somehow managed to take Ryou with him.

"Seriously! He falls in love with a thief!" Malik said as his tail became frizzy in frustration

"Sweet little Ryou? falls for a Thief? Now I've seen almost everything," Solomon said with a nod of his head

"Almost?" Shimon asked his Neko friend

"What? Oh yes almost," Solomon said as he scratched his grey fur ears

"Why?" Shimon asked in confusion

"Because someone forgot to mention something very important," Solomon asked as he looked at Yami

Yami blushed ten shades of red, then Yugi started to get fussy and wanted to be put down. Yami set him on the ground with a chuckle. With his surprise, Yugi stood up and began to take his first steps towards his grandfather.

"Well would you look at that" Seth said with a hidden smile

"Geeee-shhhhab!" Yugi babbled happily as he took wobbly steps

"Look! He's trying to say Ji-Chan" Solomon said happily

Yugi finally made to his grandfather and gave him a hug before turning to walk over to Shimon. Who were only a few steps away from Solomon.

"Giddo!" Yugi said happily as he walked to Shimon

"And he's trying to say geddo," Shimon said with a big smile

Yami and Atem were quite surprised that Yugi is learning Egyptian and Japanese words at the same time. Soon the mood disappeared when Solomon cleared his throat and took out a piece of paper that was written by Ryou.

"Oh and why I said almost," Solomon said as he handed the note to Shimon

Shimon read the note once and a few more time before a grin was on his face. He passed the note to Isis, then Isis passed it to Mahad, then he passed it to Seth, and soon everyone got to read the note except Atem and Yami. Everyone had grins on their faces as Yami blushed furiously.

"Why is everyone smiling? The wedding isn't for another two months," Atem asked as he stared at everyone

"It's not that," Yami said as he had his arms behind his back showing off a three-month baby bump

Atem noticed his lovers belly and soon pieces began to go together when he remembered that night when he discovered that Yami and his Neko friends were in heat five months ago. His friends knew how to avoid people and cover their scent but Yami, since he was a mother, didn't have time to cover his scent. Atem went to visit him and things began to get heated. And one month later Yami found out he was pregnant thanks to Ryou.

"I'm going to become a father," Atem said softly before smiling joyously

He twirled Yami around and held him close as Yami laughed. And again Solomon has to clear his throat to get some attention.

"Oh and Ryou said he's also expecting, he's five and a half months along," Solomon informed

Everyone except for Yami, Shimon, and Solomon fainted. Knowing who the father of Ryou's child is.

"Well little one we have such a great family don't we," Yami said as he carried Yugi as he babbled and laughed

The three adults laughed as they stared at the unconscious people in the room. Isis came back with a few servants with pots of water. And with a snap of her fingers, the servants dumped water on all of them.


	16. New Life

Ryou has been enjoying his time with his new mate. Akiefa and him have been expecting their first child and are waiting anxiously until it was time for Ryou to give birth. The young Neko was currently seven months pregnant. The two months before were chaotic, and Ryou knew he couldn't stay in the palace for he feared that men would try to gain an advantage of him and his friends because Yami was the king's fiancé.

"You're worried," Akiefa said as he wrote something on a papyrus scroll

"No, I'm not," Ryou said sternly

"Yes, you are. You scrunch up your nose, and your ears begin to flick at every sound in agitation" Akiefa said as he looked over his heavily pregnant lover

"Well, I can't help it. It's in my nature to worry, along with the fact that I'm pregnant" Ryou said as he caressed his round belly lovingly

Akiefa smiled and put down his quill before getting into bed with Ryou. The white Neko smiled and snuggled into his mate with a relaxed smile.

"Your friends will be fine. I should know because that blonde one nearly threw a clay pot at me" Akiefa muttered as he remembered exactly what happened

"Jonouchi meant well but Malik nearly giving you a concussion was quite amusing," Ryou said as he intertwined their hands together.

"Well they're both blonde, and I can't tell the two apart no matter the color of their skin" Akiefa muttered unhappily as Ryou laughed

Akiefa smiled and hugged Ryou close to him and started to rub his hand over Ryou's belly. He would at times feel their child kick which would amuse Akiefa to no end.

"I wonder how he will look?" Ryou said surprising Akiefa greatly

"How do you know the baby's gender?" Akiefa said as he looked at his Neko lover

"Pregnant neko's have an ability to see auras. This is the first time I've tried it" Ryou said softly.

"As long he doesn't turn out like me then I should be relieved" Akiefa admitted with a small smile.

"It doesn't matter how he will turn out Akiefa. As long as he has us, he would be who he wants to be" Ryou said as he placed his hand over akiefa's cheek

"You always have a way with words," Akiefa said with a smile.

The couple dozed off and slept the day away while two lovers were getting the preparations ready for their wedding that's going to happen in four days. Atem was getting fitted for his wedding attire while Yami currently had on the Emperor's gift. Yugi admired his mother while he sat in a spot next to Mana playing with blocks. Yami admired the wedding dress Kimoko (Emperor) gave him and found that it did suit him nicely.

"You look beautiful Yami" Mana complimented as she helped Yugi place another block on his house

"Thank you Mana," Yami said with a gentle smile.

The palace was happily gossiping about the wedding day, and the Emperor was currently having tea with his daughter.

"Father, do you think Ryou will come to the wedding?" Mai asked her father

"Ryou is a mysterious Neko. He just appeared in the Neko village one day, and no one said a thing for fear of offending him" Kimoko said as he took a sip of his tea

"Well it would be nice to see him again especially on far along he his" Mai said making her father choke on his tea.

Mai stared at him in worry and helped him calm his coughing fit. As that happened Malik and Marik were currently enjoying their time with each other. They talked most of the time and would appreciate the others touch even if it was just holding hands.

"So you're originally from Egypt," Marik said as he helped Malik use a sword

"Yes. I never knew why we left, but my family knows where all the Neko villages are in Egypt and all around the world" Malik said with a smile as Marik showed him the proper way to hold a sword

"Well, I came from the lower parts of Egypt. I lived in a small village but eventually, it came to ruin for my people were too stubborn to ask for help" Marik said with a bitter smile

Malik looked at him sympathy before going to grab his hand. Marik smiled, and he continued Malik's sword lesson. Jonouchi and Seth got to know each other very well and became somewhat friends for they still argued like cats and dogs.

"So your not allowed to return to Japan," Seth said after he and Jono stopped arguing

"Yeah. Either way, there's nothing back in Japan for my sister and me, By any chance, our people would stick to live with the other village" Jono admitted with a smile

Seth couldn't help but give a small smile himself as he and Jono enjoyed to watch the city of Egypt in peace as they listened to the people's daily activities.

"Are you hu-? I mean people. always so busy at this hour?" Jonouchi asked Seth

"Glad to know you're finally starting to stop calling us humans all the time," Seth said as Jono merely glared at him "but yes at this hour people would go to the market, and bargain or sell products to other people in the city" Seth explained

"I'm now curious to see this" Jono admitted

Seth thought about it before he decided to take Jono to the city as they both admired the life of Egypt's people. Atem was getting bored for standing around all afternoon in one place and once his servants dressed him in wedding clothes. He admired it for it looked like his royal attire when he was the prince of Egypt. The fabric was white and had a crimson sash with a few golden thread patterns on his chest area. He had on a purple cape and had on his usual crown and jewelry. After he finished admiring his clothes he nodded in satisfaction and dressed in his usual attire. Which looked similar to his late father but looked the same as his princely clothes except with a red cape.

The sound of Yugi's laughter caught his ears, and he chuckled softly as he entered his and Yami's chambers. He saw Yami playing with Yugi with wooden blocks. He saw how Yami would stack them up, and Yugi would knock it down laughing as he did it. Yami noticed Atem and smiled at him. Atem moved forward to sit next to his future Queen and his son. Yami was now five months, and Yugi would often stare at his belly in confusion.

"Eh?" Yugi babbled as he touched Yami's stomach

"Your brother is in their little one," Yami said with a smile as Yugi scrunched up his nose

Atem let out a laugh as Yugi began to babble more to his unborn brother. Wanting his brother to come out and play he kept speaking to him and showing his blocks.

"When he starts to ask questions where babies come from, I shall be...elsewhere" Atem admitted with a nervous chuckle.

"It's always the mother that has to explain these things," Yami said with a roll of his eyes "besides he will start asking questions about why his body is giving off strange scents and I'll have to explain it to him" Yami stated

"You mean he can conceive children as you can?" Atem asked

"No, all neko's go through it. It shows that they're growing up" Yami explained as Atem merely nodded his head in understanding.

The three happily enjoyed their day before nightfall came and it was time to sleep. Yami slept peacefully in their bed while Atem was still awake with Yugi in his lap watching him write in papyrus scrolls. Yugi would often try to stick his fingers in the ink jar, but Atem would merely move it farther from his reach. After a while, Yugi fell asleep, and Atem placed Yugi in his crib before he got ready for bed, and once he blew out the candle, he wrapped his arms around his fiancé and fell sound asleep.


	17. Wedding Day

The royal couple was sleeping peacefully until Yugi decided to surprise them. Yugi was watching them sleep until he got bored. He carefully climbed out of his crib and walked toward his parent's bed. He somehow managed to climb on top and with one jump he pounced on his father. Who woke up with a grunt and holding the laughing baby Neko. Yami also awoke but to the sudden laughter of his son.

"How did you get out your crib?" Atem grunted as he barely saw Ra coming out from his journey from the underworld

"...ungry" Yugi managed to say as he pointed to his belly

"Alright. Let's go get you some peaches" Atem said but Yugi stopped him with a whine

"Nuh uh" Yugi stated as he shook his head "boddle," Yugi said happily

Yami looked at Atem and they both knew that Yugi had to stop drinking from a bottle for he was already a year old. Yugi was beginning to have tears form from his eyes and Yami only sighed.

"Yugi. You can only have a bottle when it's time for bed" Yami instructed sternly

Yugi only stared at his mother with his mouth open in surprise. He was very smart for his age and he knew he wasn't going to get his morning bottle as usual. Yugi soon began to throw a fit and Atem had to calm him down.

"I know you're used to having your bottle every morning Yugi but you must start eating more proper foods for your age," Atem said as Yugi merely pouted sadly

"Now Yugi, you still get to have your bottle but only when it's time for bed," Yami said as he placed his hand over his slightly large tummy

Yugi looked at his mother's round belly and tilted his head cutely when he noticed how large it was. Apparently, Atem noticed as well, he didn't want to say it but Yami might be carrying more than one child.

"Yami, when you were pregnant with yugi...how, do you know you were just carrying one?" Atem asked catching Yami by surprise

"Well I saw his aura but sometimes auras can be bunched together so you would only see one" Yami explained "which would be difficult to determine if you're carrying more than one child," Yami said with a shrug of his shoulders

Atem merely smiled while Yugi kept playing with Atem's golden bangs. The young adults chuckled and got ready for the day ahead of them. Everyone met in the dining hall for breakfast and to talk about the wedding the next day.

"All the preparations for tomorrow is almost complete my Pharaoh" Karim (millennium scale) informed

"All we need to do is keep your...' admirers' at bay for they, and regretfully, have been invited to tomorrow's ceremony" Seth informed in distaste

Atem sighed and rubbed his eyes for a split second not liking how his morning was turning out to be until Yugi spat out something that had his full attention. Everyone turned to look at Yugi and found that he ate a lemon. His lips were puckered and he kept smacking his mouth to get rid of the sour taste. Soon Yami began to laugh at Yugi's predicament then everyone began to laugh or chuckle.

"Poor Yugi, he must've mistaken it for one of those...yellow things?" Serenity said as she picked up the yellow fruit (star fruit)

"There called carambola's they are mainly known for there star-shaped appearance" Shimon informed as he took the fruit and began to eat it

Yugi merely threw the lemon somewhere and crossed his arms cutely as a frown was upon his face. Atem laughed at the young Neko sitting in his lap while Yami merely fed the young one more fruit as Atem continued his conversation with his royal court. Soon the servants came to clean up the table and they all left to prepare for the wedding.

Jono and Malik were currently training with Marik while Seth observed them. His main focus was in a certain blonde Neko but whenever they would lock eyes with each other they would immediately get flustered and look the other way. Malik saw this and laughed to himself but his main focus was to beat Marik in a sparring match.

"You've certainly gotten better with a sword Malik" Marik complimented as he blocked another strike from the feisty blonde "but you still have much to learn," Marik said as he flung Malik's sword to the other side of the yard

Malik merely crossed his arms and smiled lightly while Marik gave him a charming smile. Malik decided to mess with him and gave him a flirtatious smile before walking and swaying his hips a bit as he went to get his practice sword. Meanwhile, Seth and Jono stared at the two in amusement before they decided to leave the two alone before they witnessed something they would regret.

"Didn't know your friend had it in him to seduce the captain of the guard" Seth commented

"Well, he's unique as I would say. He would do that only if he really likes someone in a romantic way" Jono responded with a light blush dusting his cheeks

Seth smiled and the two merely enjoyed another walk together. Meanwhile, Atem and Yami were busy with the wedding preparations. Yugi was with them and Atem currently had him in his arms while Yami had his arms placed on his round belly.

"My Pharaoh we have a problem with the seating arrangements," a servant boy said nervously

"What is the problem?" Atem asked as Yugi slept peacefully in his arms

"We don't know how it happened but some of your admirers are to close to you and the ceremonial book of unity" the servant responded shyly as Atem sighed

"Make sure that the situation is fixed and that they don't get near me or my fiancé," Atem said sternly while the servant merely nodded and left "Come we must go and greet our guest that should be arriving shortly," Atem said as he looked at Yami

"Atem I'm worried," Yami said as he hugged his midsection protectively

"Do not worry, as long as I'm here nothing will come to you and our children," Atem said in reassurance making Yami smile at him

The family walked toward the palace gates with ten guards placed near them. Many Kings, Queens, Lords, Ladies, Princes, and Princesses came to congratulate the couple while some merely pretended to be happy for fear of offending the Pharaoh and the cat-like creature beside him.

Atem met many high ranking families before he met a very close friend of his. The King of Atlantis himself, Dartz.

"Hello old friend it is so nice to see you again," Dartz said with a bow of his head

"Now Dartz we've known each other for years there is no need for formalities," Atem said as he shifted Yugi to his other arm

"I see you've finally decided to give parenting a try," Dartz said with a smirk

"Well let's just say it's a long story," Atem said as Yami merely smiled at the two

"Oh where are my manners, Atem meet my daughter Chris," Dartz said as he motioned his daughter to step forward

"Chris? I haven't seen her since she was just an infant" Atem said with a chuckle "Well I guess she's not so little after all" Atem said as he felt Yugi beginning to get fussy

Yugi woke up but only to a painful feeling in his tummy. He began to cry and immediately Yami took him from Atem's arms and began to examine his baby.

"Is he alright?" Chris asked her father as she stared the crying baby Neko

"I'm not sure Chris, why don't you run along inside the palace and find a few of your friends that came for the wedding," Dartz said with a smile

Chris merely smiled and ran inside the palace forgetting she was a princess inside another's home. Dartz chuckled and shook his head at his daughter's antics before turning back to his friend.

"What could possibly be wrong?" Atem questioned as he now held Yugi while Yami examined him

Yami pressed his hand on Yugi's small body and found the source of his pain was near his tummy. The motherly Neko sighed in relief for it was nothing that serious.

"He's only constipated," Yami said as he cradled Yugi in his arms again "I'll take him to Isis to see if she has a remedy to help him...relieve himself," Yami said as he placed a brief kiss on Atem's lips before leaving the two men alone

"Now Atem you promised an explanation and I demand an explanation," Dartz said with a joking dramatic pose

"Why of course your highness" Atem said joining in on his little joke as he also did a funny pose

The two friends laughed and walked inside the palace as Atem began his story on how he met Yami. And specifically how Yami got into Egypt in the first place. As they were catching up, Yami was in Isis's medical chambers as Yugi cried on the bed Yami sat on with him.

"He must've eaten something that didn't agree with him or he's simply stressed" Isis confirmed as she examined Yugi

"Do you have anything that can help relieve him?" Yami asked as Yugi kept crying

"He just needs to drink prune nectar, it will help with the ache in his belly," Isis said as she gave Yami a bottle of prune nectar

"Let's just hope he won't refuse it" Yami muttered as he cradled Yugi against him and began to feed him the bottle of prune nectar

Yugi immediately began to suckle the bottle but when he tasted the nectar he found it revolting but also a bit soothing. He began to feel sleepy and before Yami could blink Yugi simply laid on the bed fast asleep.

"It would be a while before he can relieve himself might as well leave him with your grandfather for the day while you greet your guests" Isis suggested to Yami

"Atem doesn't mind me not being there. Neko's don't really interact with many humans at once" Yami admitted softly

Isis nodded her head in understanding before escorting him back to his chambers with Yugi safely in Yami's arms. Once outside Yami and Atem's chambers, Isis bid Yami a good day before Yami entered the room. Once he looked on his bed he screamed in surprise for he saw three naked women in his and Atem's room. His scream shocked the three women to the core. And they scrambled to put on their clothes.

Yugi awoke to his mother's scream and soon guards burst through the door. They saw the problem and they simply groaned in annoyance. The three women simply blushed lightly while one of them was boiling in anger.

"We shall escort these...women out of your chambers, sire," Marik said as he simply motioned his men to grab the women and bring them back to their parents. Even though they weren't dressed at all.

"Does this happen all the time?" Yami said as he was still in shock for seeing a naked woman

"I'm not going to lie but expect more of this in the future," Marik said with a stern tone before leaving the room

Yami sighed and watched as the doors closed behind Marik. Yugi was fully awake and Yami didn't notice until he smelled something revolting. He looked at Yugi who simply had a relaxed smile on his face.

"Let's get you cleaned up," Yami said as Yugi merely cooed

As Yugi was being changed by Yami, Atem was with his guests when Marik came and whispered into his ear on what happened earlier with Yami. Atem sighed and excused himself from his guests to go see Yami. Once inside his chambers, he saw Yami coming out of the bathing chambers with Yugi in his arms.

"I heard what happened," Atem said scaring Yami a bit

"Atem! Don't do that!" Yami scolded as Yugi laughed

"I see Yugi has relieved himself," Atem said as he smelled the air in disgust

"Honestly, I don't know what this child eats at times," Yami said as he put Yugi down on the ground

As Yami got back up from his knees, he nearly stumbled but Atem quickly helped balance him. Yami held his slightly large belly and saw more than one aura.

"Oh...explains why I've been getting bigger these past few months," Yami said as he smiled at Atem

"I knew it...I mean that's Amazing!" Atem said as Yami merely laughed

Yugi played with his blocks near his parents and noticed a crimson tail swaying back and forth in front of him. Yugi was on his hands and knees and when he kept seeing the crimson tail sway back and forth. He pounced on the appendage which shocked Atem for he felt like something was on him. He looked behind him and saw Yugi playing with his...

"Tail...I have a tail" Atem said slowly

"Didn't see that coming" Yami admitted as he also noticed crimson cat ears on the top of Atem's head

"Well this is interesting," Atem said as he lifted Yugi into his arms

Atem examined his new appearance and wondered how he was going to explain this to his council and not to mention his guest. Yami began to scratch Atem's ears wondering if he can purr and surprisingly he did shocking them both.

"Did I just purr?" Atem asked his fiancé

"One person who knows as much about Neko's is my grandfather and Jono but he's busy with Seth" Yami admitted

Yugi laughed and soon more laughter joined in when they saw Yami's grandfather on the floor laughing.

"It's not that funny" Atem growled

"Oh no, it's not..." Solomon said shaking his head in seriousness "but it is intriguing to know that a human can turn into a Neko" Solomon said as he examined Atem

"Well, How did this happen?" Yami asked as his grandfather only pointed to the marks on Atem's right arm

Solomon explained how Atem became a Neko and to find out it was by Atem's will. The couple was simply shocked. Atem tried thinking about being human but it didn't work.

"Now once you become a Neko there is no turning back. I should know" Solomon said with a smile

"You were human?" Atem asked in surprise

"Once, but I gave it up when I met the love of my life," Solomon said happily

He left the family and soon Atem began to smile as Yugi reached for his ears while admiring himself in Atem's crown.

"Let's get back to our guests," Yami said shyly as he didn't know what to do in a room full of humans

"Hopefully they'll take the news well that the Pharaoh of Egypt has turned into a Neko," Atem said with a smile as Yugi somehow placed Atem's crown on his head

The couple laughed as they saw the crown slip from Yugi's head. They left their chambers and went back to the throne room and when everyone saw Yami they smiled but Yami could feel their true intentions. Not everyone was happy that he was the one getting married to the Pharaoh.


	18. Wedding Day pt2

Everyone stared at the couple in surprise, no one knew that Atem was getting married to a magical creature of Japan. And what surprised them the most was that he became one of them. Dartz saw Atem's new appearance and had to resist the urge to laugh for he knew that Chris loved cats to death.

"Atem they're all staring at me," Yami said softly for him to hear

"Well they've never seen a Neko before and they might be staring at me too," Atem said with a smile

Yami smiled at him and looked at their guests, he noticed some of the princesses staring at him in jealousy and anger. Yugi was still in Atem's arms and many of the much older women began to fawn over Yugi and Yami. Yami was blushing slightly as they all congratulated him on his pregnancy and how adorable Yugi was. As they were all talking Atem felt a little left out of the conversation, luckily he saw a few of his closest friends.

"I'm sorry to cut this short, but we must tend to the other guests," Atem said as he held Yami's waist and Yugi in his left arm as they walked over to their friends

When Malik noticed them he chuckled a little as Yami merely stared at him in confusion before he heard a very familiar voice.

"Now you wouldn't think I would miss your wedding do you?" Ryou said with a smile

Yami turned around and saw the heavily pregnant Neko and smiled before trying to give him a hug but his own large belly didn't let him. Ryou chuckled and merely nodded his head in greeting.

"Is your mate here?" Yami asked as he wondered why Ryou was alone

"He's somewhere. But he won't take his chances. We might see him during the wedding watching from somewhere" Ryou said with a smile "and before you ask he's not going to cause you any trouble," Ryou said to Atem before taking in his appearance

Before he could ask Seth beat him to it when he finally found Atem and Yami. He looked at Atem in bewilderment before raising a brow in question.

"It's a rather interesting story," Atem said as his crimson tail swayed back and forth

"You too," Seth merely stated. surprising the neko's around him

"Why," Malik said while Ryou nudged him and scolded him for being rude

"I don't know how it happened. One moment me and Jono are talking about his people the next minute I find a tail and cat ears on my head while I was bathing the other night" Seth said sternly

Soon Jonouchi came to the group and blushed ten shades of red at seeing Seth and tried to make up an excuse to leave.

"I just remembered that serenity wanted to see the palace gardens again," Jono said as he backed away a little "um...I'll see you when the wedding starts," Jono said as he used his magic to disappear before Seth could get to talk to him

Seth growled under his breath before he left to find Jono and demand some answers. Yami couldn't hold it in anymore and began to laugh a little. His laughter caught on and soon their little group began to laugh.

"Seth. A Neko now that is quite amusing" Malik said not caring if he was being rude

After they stopped laughing Yami began to get tired from standing along with Ryou. Yami excused himself and took Yugi from Atem as the young Neko was resting peacefully. Ryou and Yami talked as they went to Royal Lounge to rest. Ryou noticed Akiefa following from the shadows and smiled lightly as he rubbed his hands over his large belly.

"So how are you Yami?" Ryou asked the young motherly Neko

"Well I get more tired but that's normal. Especially if you're carrying twins," Yami said with a smile

"That's great news Yami," Ryou said in excitement "I wonder who they'll look like more," Ryou asked

"It doesn't matter what they look like but I hope they don't inherit Atem's weird obsession on...what are they called, he explained them to me once," Yami said as he recalled his trip to the market place when Atem offered to take him

"Well if you describe then maybe I could take a guess," Ryou offered

"Well, they come in different colors and shapes. They can be smooth, shiny, or rather strange looking" Yami said as guards opened the doors to the lounge

When they entered Akiefa was already inside, drinking wine as he was relaxing on layers of pillows near the sun's rays. Ryou saw him and chuckled as Yami merely stared at the thief in surprise, forgetting his conversation with Ryou.

"He's a Neko now?" Yami said as he noticed the silver tail and ears

"I woke up with them and Ryou was the one who decided to keep it a secret as my closest friends kept laughing when they saw me," Akiefa said with a playful glare

"Akiefa you know that I'm a trickster. I told you about my past remember," Ryou said with a slight giggle

Yami smiled at the two and sat down on one of the benches that were in the room. Ryou sat next to him and the two kept talking until Jono appeared in a flash of light, surprising the pregnant neko's.

"Jono? Where were you? You've been missing for almost an hour" Yami asked in concern

"Sorry to worry you but I got stuck in this dark place and it took a while to get out" Jono explained "it felt like years to me," Jono said as he sat in the sunlight

Soon Seth entered the room and sighed in relief when the burning sensation on his left arm stopped. Jono was asleep on the mountains of pillows as exhaustion took him over.

"Hello priest" Akiefa said as he was now leaning against a pillar near a secret passageway

Seth merely ignored him and stared at the blonde Neko across from him. Yami noticed this and decided to give them some alone time.

"I must take Yugi back to my chambers before he wakes up," Yami said, "Ryou will you come with me?" Yami said hinting on what he wanted to do

"Oh...of course. Let's go Akiefa" Ryou said as he and Yami left the room

Seth walked over to Jono and set next to him, he wrapped his arms around him. Jono awoke and if Seth noticed he didn't want to ruin the comfortable silence that fell upon them.

"You were in the Shadow Realm" Seth began "its hard to get back without losing your soul if your a being of darkness" Seth stated as Jono listened

"Something grabbed me when I used my magic Seth," Jono said as he leaned closer to the older Neko priest

"We don't speak of that beings name but he craves light magic and will do anything to get it" Seth explained

The two stayed in each other's embrace, Seth held Jono's slim but muscular waist, tightly as Jonouchi fell asleep again. Meanwhile, Yami and Ryou were still talking before a few servants came in to get Yami ready for the wedding.

"I'll see you when the wedding begins Yami," Ryou said as he left Yami's chambers

Yugi was wide awake and was busy playing with jewelry that the servants placed on a small table that Yugi could easily reach. Yami's wedding attire was modified to fit his round belly and the servants placed golden armbands on his wrist before putting on a beautiful rose amethyst necklace on him.

"You look very pretty our future queen," A servant girl said as she bowed before Yami

"Thank you," Yami said with a smile

Yugi had many golden trinkets on him and it took a while for the servants to take it off of him. Yami chuckled as he managed to take off all the golden trinkets and dressed him in his princely clothes. Soon Yami was ready and he left with a few guards as Mana came afterward to carry Yugi for Yami.

~With Atem~

Atem was already in his wedding attire and he was excited that he was getting married, legally becoming Yugi's father, and having children at the same time. All the while a scorned Princess was fuming in rage. Her name was Princess Vivian of China. She tried to court the young king for years and yet he did nothing to return the gesture.

"Isn't it a beautiful day Vivian?" Mai said with a smile as she approached her rival but kingdom ally

"Mai what do I owe the pleasure," Vivian replied in sarcasm

"I came here to give you one single warning. Don't do anything you'll regret," Mai said darkly

Vivian was frozen in place and Mai smirked to herself before leaving the stunned princess to find her friend Téa. Vivian stormed off to take her place beside her father. Soon music began to play and Yami appeared with his grandfather beside him. Seth was beside Atem while his Father Aknadin was holding the book of unity.

Everyone watched the young Neko and many young princes stared at Yami with a bit of lust in their eyes but quickly composed themselves knowing that the young Neko was getting married. Well most princes, One prince, in particular, was the Prince of Japan and Mai's brother. He is Prince Ushio and he first saw Yami when he was a teenager but at the time Yami was being courted by another Neko. He created the fever and almost wiped out half the Neko population in order to kill one specific Neko when he found out Yami married him and were expecting a child.

'I hope nothing goes wrong' Ryou thought in worry as he kept a smile on his face as he saw Yami beside Atem

Ryou noticed Akiefa watching the prince of Japan in distrust. Ryou began to feel uneasy as he saw how the prince stared at Yami and Atem. Aknadin began to read off the book as Yami and Atem stared at each other with love. Yugi was with his great grandfather and was happily nursing on a bottle to keep him quiet until the ceremony was over.

"Two souls, one of darkness and one of light shall now combine together for all of eternity in health, sickness or death" Aknadin read as he grabbed Yami's and Atem's hand to intertwine them "Now do you accept this union my Pharaoh," Aknadin asked

"I do," Atem said with a loving smile

"And Yami do you accept our Pharaoh as your true husband for in health, sickness, and death," Aknadin asked the young pregnant Neko

"I do," Yami replied with the same loving smile Atem held

"Now it's custom to ask if anyone opposes this marriage. If so speak now or forever hold your peace," Aknadin stated

Vivian was about to say something but Mai merely glared at her until she gave up. But unknown to her, Ushio was boiling in anger. He worked hard to get Yami to notice him but every time someone else manages to capture his heart. Aknadin was about to continue but Ushio managed to speak up. Shocking everyone and Kimoko stared at his son in horror.

"Ushio What is the meaning of this!" Kimoko sternly said at his son

"I oppose the marriage for I love Yami as well father" Ushio replied in the same tone

Yami stared in surprise at the turn of events and Atem held him close. Yami stayed in his arms fearing something bad was about to happen.

"Yami do you know him?" Atem whispered in his ear

"No. Not properly, I...I...I knew the emperor had a son but he rarely came to the Neko village" Yami stammered a little as he stared at the elder prince

Atem growled and summoned his guards to protect his mate. He walked over to Ushio and the two stared at each other in complete hatred for the other.

"We are going to settle this right here. Right now" Atem growled as he intimidated the Japanese prince

"Fine. Let's duel" Ushio said with a cocky evil smirk


	19. So Much Happening

Yami stared in horror as he saw his lover begin the fight for his love. In his culture neko's must fight until one is no longer standing, dead or alive, is how the rules stand. Kimoko stared at his son in anger and Mai only looked at her brother in disappointment. Atem glared at the prince before him and Ushio had the nerve to smile wickedly at him.

"As I know that Yami and I are neko's. We shall do this as tradition tells us to do" Atem said as his voice boomed for everyone to hear

"I know the tradition and the winner will claim the one that is being fought for. Whether is to the death," Ushio remarked

"Then so be it," Atem said darkly

He motioned for the guards to escort them to the training grounds. Everyone was needed to attend to witness the events that will occur. Yami was worried and Ryou couldn't believe that this was happening to his friend. Unfortunately, all the stress and worry is what caused him to gasp and clutch his midsection.

"No...not now," Ryou gasped in pain

Seth, Jono, Akiefa, and Isis heard Ryou's gasp of pain and rushed in to help. Isis motioned for everyone else to head toward the training ground while she and a few servants help Ryou walk to the medical wing. Akiefa followed from the shadows monitoring his mates' condition. Ryou whimpered as another contraction happened.

"We won't make it in time," Jono stated firmly

"Then what should we do. He can't give birth in the middle of the corridor," Seth stated bluntly

"My room is just a turn from here. He can give birth in there," Jono said plainly as he helped Ryou walk to his room

Seth stood there stunned before he saw Akiefa following them. He shook his head and went to jono's room. Once inside he noticed that the servants had no idea what to do in helping giving birth to a Neko.

"It is alright. For the meantime go get me the necessities needed for the birthing process," Isis said to the servants

Once they left Jono looked at Seth and scowled a bit before he started to kick Seth out the room.

"What did I do now," Seth said in annoyance

"Nothing. Just that dominant Neko's aren't allowed to be near their mates until the birth is over," Jono said plainly before he shut the door in Seth's face

"He is something," Seth muttered

Seth searched the hallway for Akiefa and noticed the Thief behind a pillar. The servants came back with the needed items and quickly went into the room before they were sent back to do their original duties. Seth soon heard running footsteps and saw Malik run toward him.

"I heard...Ryou...giving birth" Malik panted "Humans not...allowed to...help" Malik informed as he went inside Jono's room

Seth blinked and shook his head while he stood guard of jono's room. Meanwhile, Jonouchi was trying to convince Isis that he and Malik will do fine with helping Ryou give birth.

"I'm sorry. But we neko's have certain rules and we go by them," Jonouchi said

"But neither of you are qualified to deliver a baby," Isis argued back

"But a human never witnessed a Neko birth before," Malik said firmly

Ryou couldn't take any more of the arguing before he screamed in pain. The three adults in the room quickly disregarded their argument and got to work. Jonouchi helped with removing Ryou's undergarment before laying him down on the bed. Malik was wiping the sweat off of Ryou's forehead while Isis monitored Ryou's contractions.

Outside the room, Akiefa was growling in agitation knowing he should be in the room with Ryou. The screams of pain and sudden curses are what snapped him out of his thoughts and he winced as his lover was spitting out curses at him. Akiefa heard Seth chuckle and he shot a dark glare at the priest.

"I wouldn't laugh for I know a certain blonde will spit out curses at you when he has your child," Akiefa said with a smirk as he heard the priest start choking on his laughs

Seth cursed at him before going back to his stoic expression. At the training grounds, Atem and Ushio we armed with swords. Since they didn't have any proper Neko weapons they had to make do with what Solomon could make for them with his magic. Atem's sword had crimson engraving on its blade and handle while Ushio's had a blue snake around the handle of his sword.

'Atem be careful' Yami thought in worry

'Don't worry. I'll be fine' Atem reassured through their new mind-link

"BEGIN!" Kimoko yelled as he stepped back into the crowd

The first sound they all heard was running footsteps then the sounds of blades clashing. Atem jumped back before attacking Ushio again. Ushio blocked Atem's sword and kneed him in the stomach. Atem dropped to his knees and noticed that Ushio was about to stab him in the back. He rolled out of the way as the blade was wedged into the dirt.

Yami held Yugi with dear life for he couldn't afford to lose another loved one. Yugi whimpered as swords still clashed and Ushio's cursing is what everyone could hear. Atem panted as he managed to slice Ushio's arm open. The Japanese prince glared at his wound before turning back to attack Atem. When they were face to face and swords struggling to deflect the other, Ushio couldn't help but smirk.

"I'm going to kill you. Just like I killed Yami's first husband," Ushio whispered darkly

His sudden confession is what made Atem boil in anger. His instincts are what took over and Ushio couldn't deflect the sudden attacks Atem was giving. Blow after blow Ushio was wounded all around his body. He collapsed in the ground and Atem held his sword at the prince's throat.

"The match is over. You Lost" Atem said darkly before leaving the prince "Guards!" Atem called out

"Pharaoh Atem there is no need for your guards. You won" Kimoko said firmly

"Yes. But he admitted to starting the sudden epidemic in the Neko village over a year ago" Atem said sternly "Just to kill one neko. He had to murder so many" Atem said sadly

Kimoko boiled in anger before Atem's guard seized Ushio and began to haul him to the medical wing for his wounds and then off to Egypt's prison. Atem sighed in relief when he saw Yami and the young expectant Neko ran up to Atem with Yugi still in his arms. Atem wrapped his arms around Yami and kissed his head.

"Let's go back to our chambers. It's been a long day" Atem said in exhaustion

"Hopefully Yugi can stay asleep for so long," Yami said with a chuckle

"Dada!" Yugi as he pulled on Atem's bangs

"Well we had hope," Atem chuckled

Atem took Yugi from Yami's arms and threw him up in the air before catching him. Yugi laughed and Atem did it again making Yami smile. Everyone left back to their rooms to rest for the night. Meanwhile, Ryou was panting and had sweat dripping down his face.

"Alright Ryou, I see the head" Isis informed "one more push and your baby is out" Isis instructed

Ryou nodded and gave another push and sighed in relief. The sounds of crying were heard and Ryou smiled. Jono opened his room door and let Seth in along with keeping it open a bit longer for Akiefa to come inside.

"So what's it like to become a new mother and father you two," Malik said as he smiled at the new parents

"It feels great," Akiefa said beside Isis as she jumped from akiefa's sudden appearance

"I have the millennium necklace and I didn't foretell that," Isis said tiredly

"Let us go get some rest. It's been a long day," Jono said

"Goodnight you three" Malik said as he and the others left the room

Ryou and Akiefa stared at their newborn son and smiled at their similarities between them. Akiefa sat next to Ryou and was grinning with pride while Ryou played with their son's hair.

"Do all newborn neko's have so much hair?" Akiefa asked

"Yes, it's not uncommon for we are related to cats in a way," Ryou said as he giggled

Their son managed to open his eyes and they were exactly the same color as his father's. He pouted and demanded to be fed. And he got this demand by glaring.

"I understand what you want but you don't have to have that look on your face," Ryou said as he tickled their son's chin

The baby Neko smiled and gripped Ryou's finger. Akiefa chuckled and watched Ryou feed their son some milk from a magical flower that Malik grew for them with his magic.

"What should we name him?" Ryou asked

Akiefa took one look at his son and noticed his slightly pale but richly tanned skin. His hair was as wild as his along with his grey lavender eyes.

"How about we name him Bakura," Akiefa said after a few minutes of silence

"Bakura...I love it," Ryou said as he knew their son might be trouble in a way

"You should rest. I'll keep watch," Akiefa said softly

Ryou nodded and handed Bakura over to his mate to place in the crib. Bakura was fast asleep and Ryou soon followed suit. Akiefa was grateful that Ryou's friends cleaned the bed for Ryou. He kept a close eye on the secret passage on the far corner of the room before deciding to use his magic to place a protection spell. He crawled into bed and wrapped his arms around his mate and fell asleep with a smile on his face.


	20. A New Start

The sun shone throughout Egypt and the royal family was currently asleep. Except for one, Yugi was staring at his parents as they slept. Mostly he stared at Yami's round tummy, he began to poke it which in turn woke up Yami.

"Yugi what are you doing out of bed?" Yami said sleepily

"Baby?" Yugi asked as he pointed at Yami's belly. Making Yami chuckle at the young Neko.

"Yes. Yugi there is a baby in there" Yami said as he smiled at him

Atem woke up due to Yugi talking which didn't make much sense but he was still learning. He sat up and stretched his arms as he looked at his new queen.

"Morning Atem," Yami said as he kissed his cheek but Atemu turned and kissed him on the lips

Yami giggled through the kiss making Yugi whine as they no longer paid attention to him. They both looked at Yugi with smiles on their faces.

"good morning my early jewel" Atem said as he tickled Yugi. Yugi laughed as atem kept tickling him. Yami smiled at the two boys and he felt the twins kick slightly, he smiled and rubbed his round tummy.

The three got ready for the day so they could wish their guests farewell. Atem held Yugi as they bid goodbye to a duke and duchess. Yugi was bored out of his mind when all his parents did was speak to strangers. His parents were now talking with the King of Atlantis while his daughter made funny faces at Yugi which confused him to no end.

"Why won't he laugh?" Chris said with a pout. Yami giggled as he tickled Yugi under his chin which made him purr slightly

"Yugi doesn't know what to do when people make faces at him to get him to laugh," Yami informed

Chris stared at Yugi and tried one more time. She made a face and stuck her tongue out to make herself look silly. Yugi stared at her and he saw her teeth, she had no fangs as he did and he began to stick his fingers in her mouth which surprised Chris. She pulled back as she stared at Yugi in surprise.

"Yugi. we don' put our hands in someone's mouth" Yami scolded

Yugi pouted as he stared at the girl's teeth again, Atem seemed to notice Yugi's curiosity and began to laugh while Dartz and Yami stared at him as if he lost his mind.

"He means well. I assure you he was looking at her teeth" Atem stated as he moved Yugi to sit on his left arm as he carried him

"my teeth?" Chris asked in disbelief "what's wrong with my teeth?" Chris said sternly as she crossed her arms

"nothing is wrong with your teeth, young one" Yami said as he realized what atem was saying "Neko's have fangs and humans don't" Yami informed "Yugi doesn't know that yet so he believed you had fangs too" Yami said with a giggle

Chris understood but she kept her mouth closed in case Yugi tried to stick his fingers in her mouth again. Dartz said his final goodbye to the married couple and went to his horse, Chris followed suit and they rode off to the docks to board their ship along with their guards.

"we must teach Yugi about manners," Yami said sternly making atem chuckle

"of course my desert rose," Atem said as he kissed Yami's forehead

It was the afternoon when they bid everyone goodbye and Yami noticed atemu acting strangely when he talked with Emperor Kimoko privately. He was currently in their room when Atem finally entered from a long day's work. Yugi was going to spend the night with his grandfather so Yami can talk to atem alone.

"Atem you've been acting strange all day," Yami said as he looked at his husband "tell me what's wrong" Yami pleaded

"If I tell you now. It might affect you emotionally" Atem said sadly as he kissed Yami's forehead

"If it's affecting you then it affects me too atem," Yami said before he turned away from him

Yami sighed and began to get ready for bed while Atem did the same. When the two tucked themselves into bed Yami snuggled close to atem as he fell asleep. Atem stayed awake a little while longer until he fell asleep.

* * *

 _ **In Atem's Dream**_

* * *

Atem was walking in white empty space. He narrowed his eyes as he felt magic similar to Yami's, he heard something to his left and was about to attack when he saw that the stranger was a Neko.

"You must be Yugioh," Atem said curtly as he saw that the Neko looked almost like Yugi

"yes," Yugioh said before he sighed sadly "I believe you found my murderer or should I say our murderer," Yugioh said as he gestured to all the neko's who died from the epidemic

Atem looked at them with sad eyes before he nodded, they all smiled happily when atem confirmed his answer. Many sighed in peace as they finally could move on from the in-between of the Neko spirit world. Atem saw all of them go into a light except for Yugioh he stared at him curiously as to why he stayed.

"Why do you stay?" Atem asked the neko

"Because I've chosen to be reborn. For one of your children won't make it during the birth" Yugioh said sadly "Do not fear. I've loved Yami dearly but...during our years of marriage we both noticed that we've grown distant from each other" Yugioh stated truthfully

Atem took in his words and smiled sadly at the older neko. Yugioh stared at atem with a smile as he used his magic to create a mirror to the living world to look at his son.

"it's a shame I never got to see yugi," Yugioh said "but when he wants, he could always ask his mother about me...and so can you," Yugioh said shocking atem

"How? we rarely know each other," Atem informed

Yugioh smiled and used his magic to form a music box for Atem to give to Yami. Yugioh knew the song that played when opened. Yugioh then gave Atem a book of his adventures when he would sneak out of Japan without anyone knowing. How he and Yami met and how they fell in love before he passed away.

"That is how," Yugioh said

"Yugi will surely treasure this when the time is right," Atem said as Yugioh gave him the music box and the book "Atem when you awake you will not remember the future of your unborn children," Yugioh said before he began to fade away

Atem noticed that things began to fade and Yugioh nodded his head to show his gratitude towards Atem, the young king bowed in return as he gave Yugioh one last smile.

* * *

 _ **End of Dream**_

* * *

Atem awoke to music playing and the slight sniffles of his mate. He sat up and began to make his way toward the music. He saw Yami sitting on the pillows of the lounging area with the music box Yugioh had given him to give to Yami.

"I see you have yugioh's gift," Atem said softly making Yami turn to him with a gracious smile

"I broke this box long ago when Yugioh and I got into a fight," Yami said with a smile "He was always traveling never staying in one place for too long," Yami said sadly but still kept his smile

"You must've gotten through to him if he stayed in the Neko village," Atem said softly

Yami said nothing as he stroked his belly. Atem respected his choice of not responding as they both listened to the music playing from the box.


	21. Our New Beginning

Time has passed since the wedding, Yugi was now causing mischief towards the servant girls. Much to Yami's displeasure and Yugi's actions aren't helping with his mood swings and constant fatigue. Currently, Yami was in his chambers reading a book as Atem walked in with Yugi in his arms.

"How is my jewel of the nile," Atem asked as he placed Yugi on the bed

"Frustrated. One of the twins won't stop kicking" Yami said as he winced and rubbed his belly to soothe his little one

"Well any day now we will be expecting the twins," Atem said proudly as he rubbed Yami's belly as well the young Pharaoh sat on the bed next to Yami

Yami smiled and rested his head on his husband's shoulder. He rubbed his nine-month belly while Yugi rested between Yami's legs, taking a nap. Atem never told Yami what bothered him all those months ago but he was willing to tell Yami when the time was right. The sun was already setting and Yugi tended to take his naps early so he can wake up early.

Atem began to get ready for bed while Yami placed Yugi in his crib. When they both returned to bed, Yami laughed slightly as he saw his little one-year-old Neko child right behind him. Atem sighed and looked down behind him to see Yugi wide awake.

"Of all times why now?" Atem said jokingly while Yugi smiled and babbled a few words

Yami smiled as Atem placed Yugi back in his crib and went back to see Yami holding out a bottle of milk for him to take. The young king took the bottle and walked back to Yugi's room and gave the young Neko his bottle.

"Goodnight yugi," Atem said as he kissed his forehead

Yugi cooed as he drank from his bottle and slowly fell asleep. When Atem left Yugi's room, Yami was already fast asleep. He smiled and settled himself next to Yami and immediately he fell asleep.

* * *

 _ **6 Hours Later...**_

* * *

It was the late hours of the night when Yami awoke in pain. He sat up from the bed and took in deep breaths.

"Atem" Yami breathed out as he nudged his mate

Atem merely groaned but kept sleeping making Yami growl. He pushed Atem off the bed when he didn't listen to him as his pain took over his empathy. Atem was awakened and a bit startled as he stared at his mate.

"Yami What in Ra's name-" Atem began as he saw the wet sheets

"Atem! Call Isis!" Yami yelled angrily as he screamed in pain

Atem quickly ran to go find Isis but when he opened his bedroom he saw Isis already prepared to help Yami. Jonouchi and Malik were also with her. The Pharaoh let them in as he went to go get Yugi. Isis saw Yami calm his breathing when she entered the room.

"It's a good thing you know what you're doing Yami," Malik said as he remembered when he helped Yami first give birth

Yami smiled a little before he hissed in pain, Atem was waiting in the lounge when Shimon and Solomon entered. Yugi was sleeping peacefully but he was slowly waking up.

"Nervous?" Shimon asked

"Yes and slightly excited," Atem said as he held Yugi in his arms

"I remember when Yugi was born. Yami cursed so much I believe Yugioh heard him" Solomon laughed

"I believe he's cursing now. When we passed his room I heard slight screaming and yelling" Shimon said as he thought if he heard right

Atem was about to respond when Yami's voice echoed throughout the palace halls. He winced and covered Yugi's ears as Yami cursed. Solomon and Shimon began to laugh as the cursing stopped. Atem chuckled lightly and uncovered Yugi's ears when he bit him. Atem flexed his hand a bit as Yugi reached for it.

"Yugi's been teething lately," Atem said as Yugi began to nibble on his fists

"Growing new teeth already? My he's growing fast" Shimon said with a chuckle

As they all talked Yami was panting and sweating as Isis told him to keep pushing while Malik and Jono helped with other things.

"I see the head Yami. One more push and the baby is out" Isis said as Yami nodded

The young parent pushed once more and panted as he didn't have to push for a few more minutes. Crying was heard and the infant Neko looked exactly like Atem. Isis cleaned the baby and handed the infant to Yami.

"Congratulations. You have a baby boy" Isis said with a smile

Yami smiled and cooed at his baby, he had the same tricolored hair as Atem along with his lightning bolt streaks. He had the same colored ears as him and no doubt the tail was exactly the same as well. Yami handed his baby to Malik when he felt another contraction hit.

"Let's get back to work," Isis said as she got ready to help Yami deliver the second infant

Yami began to push while Jonouchi wiped the sweat from Yami's forehead with a cloth. After a few minutes the baby was delivered but when Isis cleaned the infant it wasn't crying. Alarmed she began to blow on the infant's face hoping to get it to breathe. Yami soon became worried about his baby's life.

"Isis why isn't he crying?" Yami said in alarm

Isis didn't answer while Jonouchi tried to calm Yami down to keep him from having a panic attack. After two minutes of blowing on the infant's face, he began to cry and color returned to his cheeks. Yami sighed in relief as Isis handed him his child.

"You have a baby girl," Isis said with a smile on her face as Yami held the infant in his arms

To Yami, something seemed familiar about her, like he knew her once a long time ago. But he pushed the thought aside and smiled at his daughter. She looked almost like him, blonde bangs, amethyst tips, and the slight tan on her pale skin. Malik left to go inform Atem of the new arrivals while Jonouchi and Isis helped clean the room. Isis packed up her medical supplies while Jono used his magic to clean Yami's bed and to get rid of the smell of afterbirth.

When Atem came into the room with Yugi in his arms followed by the two grandfathers. They all smiled when they saw the twins being held by Yami. The young mother smiled tiredly at them as he looked at the young infants. Yugi stared at them before he began to fall asleep.

"We should let him sleep. It's been a long night" Shimon said as Solomon agreed with him

"You're right. We can visit our grandchildren tomorrow" Solomon replied as he and Shimon left the room

Atem sat next to Yami, Yugi still in his arms asleep. Yami smiled at him as he stared at the twins.

"I've never imagined on having twins," Yami said softly

"Well we're going to have a whole new adventure with these three running around the palace in a few years," Atem said as he stared at the twins with a loving smile

"What should we name them?" Atem asked softly

"The boy. I believe we should name him Heba" Yami said with love "and what should we name our baby girl?" Yami asked shocking Atem a bit

"I have a little girl. I wish my mother was here to see this" Atem said happily with tears in his eyes

"She would be so proud of you," Yami said with a smile

"We should name her after my mother. Amara" Atem said making Yami smiled before he yawned

"We should get some sleep," Yami said tiredly

Atemu smiled and placed Yugi in the bed as he put the twins in the crib that Isis provided. Yugi snuggled close to his mother as he slept while Yami ran his fingers through his hair. Atem got back into bed and placed the blankets over them and slept.

* * *

 _Throughout everything, the two lovers have been through. They never thought they would meet because of a raid, the risks Yami took, and the festival Atem held that day. And if things were different, the two will always find a different way to come together. They had the years ahead of them to have their own adventures in the Kingdom of Egypt._

 _"And from there on out, they had to get three pesky Neko children out of trouble," A very old Neko said_

 _"But grandpa if mother and father never met. How would they meet again if it were different circumstances if I was never captured" said a ten-year-old Neko child_

 _"Yugi my boy, if you were never captured I believe fate would have a different path to get your parents together like Solomon said," An old man said holding the millennium key with a smile on his face_

 _"Shimon and I have witnessed every single adventure your parents had. And they wrote it all down in a book they keep here in the library" Solomon said_

 _"Grandfather, does our mother still have that music box?" An eight-year-old said as his twin held their parent's book in her hands_

 _"I know he does Heba. He keeps it in his room and plays one of his most treasured songs" Solomon informed making the youngest of the three smile_

 _"Mother looks very beautiful in the wedding gown he wore," Heba's twin said as she admired the picture of Yami in his wedding attire_

 _"That he does little one," said a smooth baritone voice_

 _The three Neko children turned around and smiled brightly when they saw their parents._

 _"Mother! Father!" They all yelled happily as they stood up from their seats and ran towards them to give them a hug_

 _"What have you three been up to since we've been gone," Yami said as he rubbed his four-month pregnant belly_

 _"Ji-chan and Geddo told us about how you two met and all the obstacles you've been through but they kept your dream a secret father," Heba's twin said with a pout as she crossed her arms across her chest_

 _"Now Amara. What have I told you about pouting it's not becoming for a princess" Yami said jokingly as Amara laughed_

 _The family laughed as Solomon and Shimon stared at the family with smiles on their faces. As they saw the family talk and laugh, Yami sat next to his grandfather and rubbed his pregnant belly._

 _"Four children. Thank goodness we're stopping at four" Atem said as he sat beside his queen_

 _The two old men in the room shook their heads in agreement as they watched the children play in the lounge. Yami bit his lip which made Atem nervous._

 _"Yami?" Atem asked in worry_

 _"Well, four is an understatement. How about six?" Yami said with a nervous smile_

 _"Triplets?" Atem said in shock before he smiled "we can handle that" Atem said as wrapped his arm around Yami_

 _Solomon and Shimon looked at each other before laughing. Yami and Atem joined while the kids looked at them as if they lost their minds._

 _"Do we even want to ask?" Heba said to Yugi_

 _"No. It's just something we do" Yugi said with a smile as remembered something his father wrote in his book_

 _Later that night, Yugi was in his bed reading a book with gold lining and amethyst colored roses covering the books front cover. One specific line always made him smile as he learned his father used to say it to his mother all the time._

 _ **"When odds are against us. We have a family to help us through it. And with it we can overcome anything"** -Yugioh_

 _Yugi began to walk back to the library while everyone was asleep. He searched for the pedestal that kept his parents book. When he found it he ran his fingers over the book with care._

 _"What are you doing out of bed?" A soft voice asked making Yugi jump_

 _"Mother! You startled me" Yugi said as he turned to face Yami_

 _"I can tell when my children are awake," Yami said with a smile as he saw the book behind Yugi "Let's get reading shall we," Yami said as he sat down on the cushions of pillows on the floor_

 _Yugi smiled and brought the book to Yami as he sat next to him. He made himself comfortable as he snuggled close to his mother. Yami placed a blanket over them while Yugi held the book in between them._

 _"The Neko and the Pharaoh" Yugi said as he began to read the story_

 **The End.**


End file.
